Visitor Visas

Visitor visa applications appear straightforward and are refused frequently. Every application turns on a single question: whether the Department is satisfied that the applicant genuinely intends a temporary stay and will depart when the visa ceases. Refusal rates vary substantially by nationality, ranging from the low single digits for some passports to above thirty per cent for others. Documentary evidence, rather than assertion, determines the outcome.

# Tourist stream — holidays, recreation, and visits to family and friends. Available to applicants both onshore and offshore.

# Business Visitor stream — meetings, negotiations and conferences. It does not permit work for an Australian employer.

# Sponsored Family stream — requires sponsorship by an eligible Australian family member. A security bond may be imposed. This stream is frequently the appropriate course where an application under the Tourist stream has already been refused.

# Frequent Traveller stream — for eligible frequent business travellers, carrying a longer validity period.

# Approved Destination Status stream — for Chinese nationals travelling in an organised tour group.

# Identifying the correct visa and stream. Applications lodged under an inappropriate stream are a common and avoidable cause of refusal.

# Constructing the genuine temporary entry case, drawing on ties to the home country, employment, assets, family circumstances, travelhistory and a coherent itinerary.

# Addressing prior refusals directly rather than leaving them to be discovered.

# Advising on condition 8503 (No Further Stay), which, where imposed, prevents most onshore applications for a further visa. This condition regularly frustrates families seeking to extend a parent’s visit and should be checked before travel.