Which visa should you check?
For a visit, build a consistent account across your trip plan, funds and relevant circumstances. For longer study, use the Student visa and its current document tool. For a working holiday, check the first-462 ballot, age and evidence rules.
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 High Commission in India directs visitor applicants to lodge online in ImmiAccount and says not to finalise travel arrangements before a valid visa is granted. Paper Visitor 600 applications are generally no longer accepted.
A practical Visitor 600 Tourist sequence
- Choose the purpose and stream. For tourism or a family visit while outside Australia, check the overseas Tourist stream. An Indian passport is not on the ETA or eVisitor passport lists; living in a country whose passport is eligible does not change your own passport eligibility.
- Prepare a consistent application. Match your passport details, outline the trip and its funding, and attach relevant work, study, family or residence evidence that explains why the visit is temporary. Add an invitation if you are visiting someone; an invitation alone is not approval.
- Lodge online in ImmiAccount. The High Commission directs Visitor 600 applicants to online lodgement. Attach the documents requested for your own case and pay the current charge through the official channel. A paper form is accepted only if Home Affairs has given exceptional written permission.
- Follow any later request. Check ImmiAccount for biometrics, health or document instructions. Your residence and request letter determine where and how to complete biometrics; do not book a centre just because another applicant needed one.
- Wait for the written outcome. The overseas Tourist stream requires you to be outside Australia when the decision is made. Read the grant notice and conditions before finalising travel.
Official overseas Tourist steps · High Commission online-lodgement rule · Biometrics requests →
Documents, timing and passport handling
Is there a fixed minimum bank balance?
Home Affairs asks you to show access to enough money for your actual stay and departure. Its examples include bank statements, payslips and other financial records; it does not give one balance that guarantees a Visitor 600 grant. Explain who pays and use genuine records that fit your trip.
How long will my application take?
Use the live processing-time guide for the Tourist stream. It describes recently decided cases, not a promised date for yours. The broad Visitor category combines different subclasses, so avoid treating it as your individual estimate.
Must I send my passport to the High Commission?
The High Commission's current FAQ says Australian visas are electronic and applicants do not submit a passport to it for a visa label. You still need a valid passport and must follow any identity or biometrics request sent for your own application.
Detailed Visitor 600 evidence guide → · Understand processing times → · High Commission visa FAQ
Check the course before the visa application
For a longer course, review the Student visa (subclass 500). Verify the course and provider on CRICOS, obtain your Confirmation of Enrolment, then use Home Affairs’ document checklist tool with your Indian passport and chosen provider. That tool determines whether financial-capacity and English-language evidence must be attached when you submit.
Your Genuine Student answers should explain your own study choice and circumstances, supported by evidence. Do not rely on a copied statement or a fixed “India document list”: the official list can change with the provider and your answers.
Read our Student visa guide → · GS answer planner ↓ · Official Student document tool
A ballot selection comes before a first application
An Indian passport is on the first Work and Holiday (subclass 462) list, but not the Working Holiday 417 list. For a first 462, Home Affairs requires eligible Indian passport holders to register for a ballot and be randomly selected before applying. The 2026–27 registration period closed on 25 June 2026. Home Affairs lists a second Indian selection on 25 September 2026 and says selections may continue until 30 April 2027. Check the live ballot page and your ImmiAccount notice rather than paying someone who promises a selection.
If selected: your selection letter gives the application deadline. Home Affairs says the window is 28 calendar days from notification, with a midnight Australian Eastern Standard Time cut-off on day 28. Apply for a first 462 from outside Australia and before the applicable age limit; check both rules against your own dates. Home Affairs requires a valid Indian PAN card, not an Aadhaar card, as the national ID for this ballot. Its details must match the registration and visa application. Attach copies of both sides under the national identity document category. A selection permits you to lodge within the window; it does not grant a visa.
The first-462 page sets the age limit at 18–30 when applying and lists India's education threshold as at least two years of post-secondary study. Check its functional-English, funds, health, character and other requirements for your own application.
Private ballot worksheet ↓ · Compare 417 and 462 → · Current Indian ballot status and deadlines · First-462 eligibility and evidence
Keep control of your application
Visitor 600 applications are lodged online through ImmiAccount. The Australian High Commission warns about people who promise a job on a visitor visa, a guaranteed outcome or a switch from a Visitor visa to a Student visa after arrival. Check your own application in ImmiAccount and use official links before paying anyone.
Official Visitor 600 online lodgement notice · High Commission visa scam advice
Build a clear, consistent application
For a Visitor 600 application, organise the evidence below. For Student 500, use the study section above and the passport-and-provider document tool.
- 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.
Find the issuing steps for India
Use the countries and periods named in your visa instructions or individual request. This passport guide does not establish that you need a certificate from India; your residence history can involve other countries too.
India police-certificate starting checks → · Find another issuing country →
The linked help includes official sources. Check the current issuer instructions before applying, and keep completed identity records in the official process.
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