Which visa should you check?
Match the passport and purpose to the route. Tourist, Approved Destination Status and Frequent Traveller are visitor streams without employment permission; a first Work and Holiday 462 needs ballot selection before an application.
The Visitor visa (subclass 600) tourist stream is a useful first page to review for a visit. Eligibility depends on your exact circumstances. Home Affairs decides applications.
What else should you know?
The Australian Embassy in China says Visitor 600 applications must be lodged online through ImmiAccount and each person needs an individual application. Its separate Frequent Traveller stream has a specific biometrics requirement and current collection restriction for applicants in mainland China.
A PRC passport is not ETA or eVisitor eligible
The Australian Embassy says a People’s Republic of China passport is not eligible for the Electronic Travel Authority (ETA 601) or eVisitor (651). For an independent holiday or visit with family or friends, begin with the Visitor 600 Tourist stream. Do not choose a business, sponsored-family or organised-tour stream simply because it seems faster; each has a distinct purpose and conditions.
Hong Kong SAR is listed separately on the ETA passport list. If that is the passport you will travel on, choose the Hong Kong SAR passport in the planner and check the official ETA rules. Residence in mainland China alone does not change the visa options attached to a different passport.
Embassy visitor visa and passport guidance · Official overseas Tourist stream · Official ETA passport list
Lodge each Tourist application in ImmiAccount
- Confirm that the trip is a genuine temporary holiday or family visit and read the current overseas Tourist stream page. This stream does not allow work.
- Prepare truthful identity, travel-purpose, funding and personal-circumstance evidence relevant to the application. Check the current attachment prompts rather than an old embassy PDF or a fixed document list.
- Apply online through ImmiAccount. The Embassy says each traveller needs an individual Visitor 600 application. If you travel together, its group-processing option can associate the applications; it does not turn them into one application.
- For a traveller under 18, include the parental or legal-guardian consent evidence required by Home Affairs. Follow any later request for biometrics, health checks or additional documents under its own instructions.
- Stay outside Australia when applying for the overseas Tourist stream and when Home Affairs decides it. Read the written outcome and all granted stay and work conditions before finalising travel.
Detailed Tourist evidence guide → · Embassy online and group-lodgement instructions · Official Tourist stream steps
Organised tours and frequent travel have separate rules
The Approved Destination Status (ADS) stream is for eligible PRC citizens travelling with a tour organised by an approved travel agent. The approved agent applies on the traveller’s behalf, and the visa requires staying with the tour group. It is not the ordinary independent Tourist stream.
The Frequent Traveller stream may suit eligible PRC citizens who regularly visit for tourism or permitted business visitor activities. It can be granted for up to 10 years, but each entry is limited to up to three months; it does not allow employment or residence. This stream requires biometrics at an Australian Biometrics Collection Centre. Home Affairs and the Embassy currently say collection within the PRC is available only in Hong Kong SAR, so a person unable to attend an eligible centre should check that practical requirement before choosing this stream. This restriction is specific to Frequent Traveller, not a blanket rule that every Tourist applicant must travel to Hong Kong.
Official ADS stream · Official Frequent Traveller stream · Embassy collection update
The ballot comes before a first 462 visa application
For an extended holiday with short-term work, a PRC passport holder aged 18–30 inclusive can check the first Work and Holiday visa (subclass 462). This is separate from the Visitor 600 streams above. Home Affairs requires eligible PRC passport holders to enter a pre-application ballot and be randomly selected before lodging a first-462 application. A ballot registration or selection is not a visa grant.
The 2026–27 registration period closed on 25 June 2026. People who already registered can check their registration in ImmiAccount and watch the email address used there; Home Affairs says random selections may continue until 30 April 2027. If selected, use the instructions in the selection notice and lodge within 28 calendar days. The notice gives the exact due date; a person who turns 31 sooner may have an earlier age deadline. A first-462 application must be made while outside Australia, and the applicant must remain outside for the decision. Someone who did not register cannot use a selection from another person or an unofficial “ballot agent” to apply this year.
Before lodging, check the current first-462 rules for education, functional English, funds, health, character and prior Working Holiday Maker visas. Home Affairs requires both sides of the valid national ID card, with details matching the ballot registration. It does not list a government-support letter for PRC passport holders. If you are living outside China, give your true location and follow any later biometrics request for where you actually live. The official cap table directs PRC applicants to the ballot instructions; its annual grant cap does not replace the selection step.
2026–27 ballot and selection instructions · First-462 eligibility and documents · Private ballot worksheet ↓ · Compare Working Holiday routes →
Build a clear, consistent application
The questions below are for a Visitor 600 application. For a first Work and Holiday 462, use the separate ballot and visa evidence instructions above; an invitation or visitor-trip plan does not replace 462 eligibility.
- Passport and identity documents that match your application.
- A simple account of your travel dates, purpose and accommodation.
- Evidence that you can fund the trip, or details of a supporter.
- Relevant work, study, family or residence evidence that explains your circumstances.
- Invitation details if you are visiting someone.
- Clear scans and translations where required.
Home Affairs can request additional evidence, biometrics or health checks. See its document preparation advice and our biometrics guide. For the overseas Tourist stream, use our detailed Visitor 600 evidence guide.
Your step-by-step outline
- Confirm the right visa, fee, eligibility and conditions on Home Affairs.
- Gather evidence and check every answer against your passport.
- Use the official application channel and keep your reference number.
- Follow any requests for biometrics, health checks or more documents.
- Read the decision notice and all visa conditions before travelling.
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