All non-citizens need to obtain a visa prior to travelling to Australia.

For information about different visa options, you can use the Visa Finder. 

Use ImmiAccount to lodge your application, make a payment, update your details or circumstances, upload documents, and track the progress of your application. 

For current global visa processing times, please click here.

Requests for Urgent Processing

If your application is urgent due to compelling or compassionate reasons (for example, a close family member has become ill suddenly in Australia), please submit a Compelling and compassionate request for travel via the Australian Immigration Enquiry Form. Please ensure your request contains supporting documentation or other information (for example, medical certificate). Your application may not be able to be expedited if you do not provide relevant supporting evidence.

We do not consider urgent requests to travel to attend business meetings or where your flight is departing soon as genuine emergencies. We try to process all applications as quickly as we can, however we cannot be held responsible if you have pre-booked your travel and your application is not lodged early enough to allow the processing of your application. Some applications will also require us to undertake further assessments, which may take more time.

All applicants in Thailand and Myanmar must complete biometric (face photograph and fingerprint scan) collection for each application lodged, irrespective of their nationality, unless they are excluded or exempt from the program.

Biometrics are collected through a quick and easy process that captures a photograph of your face and a 10-digit electronic fingerprint. Applicants will be required to provide their biometrics each and every time they apply for a visa.

Whilst biometric data is recorded and kept for future reference, in line with the Department’s published policy on the retention of data, this does not override the requirement for applicants to submit their biometric data should they lodge a fresh application.

The biometric data collected during the visa application process is checked against previous records and also on entry to Australia (e.g. at the airport when your passport is checked at immigration) – this process enhances the basic identity assurance of a passport document, which can be forged or altered more easily than a person’s biometric data, to ensure that the person applying for an Australian visa is indeed who they claim to be.

When you lodge your application online, you will be sent a request to provide personal identifiers (biometrics) via email. You should make an appointment to attend an Australian Biometrics Collection Centre (ABCC) in person to provide your biometrics. Take a copy of that email and your passport to the appointment.

You must provide your biometrics within 14 days of online lodgement or notify the relevant processing office if unable to do so. In the event that you do not provide your biometrics within this timeframe, your application will be refused. 

VFS Global operates two ABCCs in Thailand (in Bangkok and Chiang Mai) and one in Myanmar (in Yangon). The ABCC will charge a service fee for the lodgement of applications and collection of biometrics.

• For more information about biometric collection procedures, fees charged, contact details, ABCC locations, or to book your biometrics appointment, please visit VFS Global.
• For more information on meeting our biometrics requirements, please click here.

The health requirement will depend on your personal circumstances and the visa that you have applied for. All permanent visa applicants and certain temporary visa applicants will be required to undergo health examinations as a part of the visa application process.

If you have been requested to undertake a health examination there is no guarantee of a positive visa outcome. If you fail to meet the health requirement your visa may be refused, however this will depend on the visa subclass you have applied for. Some visa subclasses allow a health waiver to be exercised in certain circumstances.

For more information about the health requirement, including how to contact a panel physician near you, please click here.  

If a child under 18 years of age intends to travel to Australia, any non-accompanying parent(s) or person(s) with parental responsibility are required to sign a consent form to give permission for the child/children to be granted an Australian visa.

If one parent, or person(s) with parental responsibility, has lawfully been made solely responsible for making decisions as to where the child/children is/are to live, then only that parent or person needs to sign the consent form.

See: Consent to Grant an Australian visa to a child under the age of 18 years 

Applicants may need to provide:

• Form 1229 to be completed by both parents (or persons with parental responsibility), with evidence of their signatures (ie bio-data pages of passport or other document containing evidence of their signature).
• If Form 1229 cannot be signed by both parents (or persons with parental responsibility), the following should be included:
  • Evidence of sole custody, or permission from the relevant court authority permitting removal of the child from Thailand or Laos for example:
    • A court order from Thailand or Laos permitting the removal of the child, or
    • A Por Kor 14 covering the custodial circumstances of the applicant, or
    • Death certificate, or
    • Divorce certificate with memorandum covering the custodial circumstances of the applicant.
       

Documents that are not in English must be translated and accompanied by an English translation when you lodge your application.

If you are outside Australia when you apply, you should engage a reputable translation company.  The translation should be endorsed by the company and include their full name, contact details and credentials. We are not able to provide any recommendation for professional translators in Thailand, Myanmar or Laos.

You must provide certified copies of both of the following with your application:

• the official translation of the document
• the document that is not in English. 

To enable us to process your application as quickly as possible, you should provide authenticated copies of any Lao PDR Government-issued documents that you provide as part of your application. This includes any birth certificates, marriage certificates and household registers.

The Lao PDR Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) advises that you must have the translated copy of your original document certified by:

• the Department of Court Registrar, Ministry of Justice (MoJ), or
• the Justice Division of Vientiane Capital, or
• the Justice Division of Provincial.

The document must then be authenticated legal by the Consular Department of Lao PDR MoFA. If you live outside of Lao PDR, family or friends can request the service on your behalf.

For more details on authenticating documents, contact Lao PDR MoFA (Consular Department) directly at +856 21 254176. The Australian Embassies in Bangkok and Vientiane are unable to provide further advice

The Australian Embassy in Bangkok receives a significant amount of correspondence each day. While we aim to respond to communication in a timely manner, please read the information contained in our Frequently asked questions before contacting us.

If your query is addressed on the Embassy or Home Affairs websites we will not provide a response.

We value your feedback. Your compliments, complaints or suggestions provide the Department with information to help improve the quality of our services.

If you wish to provide feedback or suggestions, please click here.  

We do not provide a visa and citizenship counter service.

Visit the Home Affairs website for further information regarding visas or citizenship. If you are unable to find the information you need on the Home Affairs website, telephone the Global Service Centre​​​.

If you have an ongoing application outside global processing times, you can complete the Australian immigration enquiry form. If your query is addressed in our Frequently asked questions we will not provide a response.

The Australian Government is committed to protecting Australia's borders, combating people smuggling in our region, and preventing people from risking their lives at sea.

Operation Sovereign Borders is a military-led border security operation that was established in 2013 to deliver on this commitment.

Anyone who attempts an unauthorised boat voyage to Australia will be turned back to their point of departure, returned to their home country or transferred to another country.

No-one who travels illegally to Australia by boat will be allowed to remain in Australia.

People smugglers use false promises of settlement in Australia to convince people to hand over their money. Do not believe their lies. The truth is that no-one who pays a people smuggler for an illegal boat journey to Australia will get what they paid for.

There is only one way to gain entry into Australia — with an Australian visa.

For more information, please click here.