Arrival date, entries and stay period answer different questions
Find the must not arrive after date, the travel or entries field and the period of stay on your written grant. Home Affairs explains these fields in its VEVO guidance. The last arrival date is a deadline for entering Australia; it does not by itself grant a stay until that date. A long visa validity likewise does not mean you may remain continuously for its whole length.
Some grant notices express the stay as a period and others state dates. Check the complete notice, including conditions, before comparing it with flights. VEVO shows an in-effect visa; keep the notice as well, particularly if the visa is not yet in effect.
Home Affairs: understand VEVO fields · Read a grant before travel →
Permission to return has its own limit
The overseas Visitor 600 Tourist stream may be granted with a single entry or multiple entries. With a multiple-entry grant, Home Affairs says you can leave and return while the visa is valid. A single-entry grant does not give a second entry after departure. For an onshore Tourist grant, check whether it says multiple entry or no travel before leaving Australia.
Neither type removes the permitted-stay limit or any condition on the grant. Check each proposed entry and departure against the visa record. If the wording is unclear, ask Home Affairs or an authorised adviser before relying on a booking.
Overseas Tourist stream: entries and stay · Onshore Tourist stream: travel
“Up to 12 months” is not a promise of 12 months
Home Affairs says it decides the overseas Tourist stream's stay case by case and generally grants three months, with up to 12 months in some circumstances. Your requested dates are part of the assessment, but the grant may be shorter. Use the stay period or dates actually written on your notice, not a search result or another person's visa.
A multiple-entry visa should not be used as a way to assume a new, unlimited period after every border crossing. Any total-stay restriction and visa conditions still matter. If you have made several trips, check the full grant and your travel history carefully before scheduling another one.
Official Tourist stay guidance · Check your current conditions
Check the stream and any rolling limit
The overseas Tourist page describes a possible visa valid for more than 12 months for some parents or step-parents of Australian citizens or permanent residents. It says those visitors cannot stay in Australia for more than 12 months in total in any 18-month period and must have adequate health-insurance arrangements. This is a specific parent arrangement, not a general entitlement for every Visitor 600 holder.
The separate Visitor 600 Frequent Traveller stream has its own rules: Home Affairs describes up to three months on each entry and 12 months total in any 24-month period. The grant and attached conditions still need checking. Do not borrow a limit from a different Visitor stream to interpret your visa.
Tourist stream parent arrangements · Frequent Traveller stream rules · Parent visit options →
Keep earlier visits beside your proposed trip
If condition 8573 is on your visa, Home Affairs says the limit is 12 months in Australia within any 24 consecutive months. Its instructions start with the first arrival on that visa, omit time outside Australia and resume counting when you return. Include non-consecutive days spent in Australia. A departure does not erase earlier visits; the separate stay allowed on each entry still applies.
Check the actual condition number and wording before using that reference. The parent Tourist arrangement described above has a different 12-in-18-month rule. Ask Home Affairs or a registered migration agent or Australian legal practitioner to clarify an uncertain history or planned return; this guide does not calculate a safe departure date or decide compliance.
| Record | Question to resolve |
|---|---|
| Grant notice and current VEVO result | Which visa, entry permission, stay period and exact conditions apply? |
| Earlier Australian arrivals and departures | Are all relevant visits included, with dates checked against records? |
| Round-trip cruise or unclear movement | Does the visa's specific cruise rule count this as time in Australia? |
| Proposed arrival and departure | Do both the per-entry stay and any total-stay condition need checking? |
If your Australian travel dates are missing
Home Affairs provides movement records for Australian arrivals and departures from 1981 onward. They can help establish when you were inside or outside Australia, but do not identify the other countries visited. For earlier records, it directs readers to the National Archives of Australia.
Use the official online request and the checklist for the person whose records you need. The form says one request covers your current and old passports, including passports from different countries. Send identity and supporting documents only through that official channel. A movement record supplies history; it is not permission for another visit or an interpretation of your conditions.
Home Affairs: condition 8573 · What movement records contain · Official movement-record request · Supporting-document checklists
Save a private travel-history record .txt ↓
Fill in the downloaded file on your own device. No travel-history form is sent to MyAusVisa. Keep a separate record for each traveller.
A round-trip cruise does not restart the clock
Home Affairs says a round-trip cruise is treated as time spent in Australia: it does not count as leaving for the purpose of resetting a stay period. Check the cruise's classification with the operator, and check your visa before sailing. A short departure should never be assumed to cure an overstay or remove a condition.
If you want longer in Australia, the Visitor 600 visa itself cannot be extended. A new visa may be possible only if you meet its rules and your current conditions allow it. Condition 8503, if attached, can prevent most new onshore applications unless a waiver is granted in limited circumstances. A waiver request alone does not keep you lawful.
Home Affairs cruise rule · Staying longer and condition 8503 →
Make a private travel-date check
- Open each traveller's complete visa grant notice and match the name and passport.
- Write down the visa stream, last arrival date, entries, permitted stay and conditions in your own private notes.
- Check the in-effect visa in VEVO and compare the proposed arrival, departure and any re-entry with the grant.
- If any date or condition is unclear, use the official channel or qualified case-specific help before buying a non-refundable trip.
The downloadable pre-travel worksheet stays on your device. MyAusVisa does not ask for your grant number, passport or trip history.
Check the current visa in VEVO · Who may provide immigration assistance
Compare your grant with your itinerary
Use the existing two-page worksheet to record dates, entries, stay and conditions for yourself.