Visa Information for Travel to Australia
Do I require a visa?
ALL visitors to Australia must have a valid visa to travel to and enter Australia – except for New Zealand passport holders who will normally be granted a Special Category visa on arrival, provided they meet health and character requirements.
Visa options
If you are planning to visit Australia for a business event such as a conference, meeting or seminar, you need to apply for a business visitor visa. The passport, which you hold, determines whether you can apply online, or if you need to lodge a paper-based application. The following information will help you identify the right visa and application process applicable to you.
[1] eVisitor – Online Applications
See: www.immi.gov.au/e_visa/evisitor.htm
European Union (EU) passport holders, and some other European passport holders, are eligible to apply individually online for an eVisitor visa to travel to and enter Australia. For a conference event, the most appropriate visa is the eVisitor (Business stream) visa. Applications for eVisitor visas are free. Passport holders from the following countries can apply for an eVisitor visa online.
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Andorra |
France |
Lithuania |
Republic of San Marino |
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Austria |
Germany |
Luxembourg |
Slovak Republic |
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Belgium |
Greece |
Malta |
Slovenia |
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Bulgaria |
Hungary |
Monaco |
Spain |
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Cyprus |
Iceland |
The Netherlands |
Sweden |
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Czech Republic |
Ireland |
Norway |
Switzerland |
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Denmark |
Italy |
Poland |
United Kingdom – British Citizen |
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Estonia |
Latvia |
Portugal |
Vatican City |
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Finland |
Liechtenstein |
Romania |
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A separate online eVisitor (Tourist stream) application is required for each family member who holds a passport from an eligible country and wishes to travel with you to Australia, including children under the age of 18 who are included on your passport.
See: www.immi.gov.au/e_visa/evisitor.htm
[2] Electronic Travel Authority (ETA) – Online Applications
See: www.eta.immi.gov.au/
Passport holders from a number of countries are eligible to apply for an Electronic Travel Authority (ETA) to travel to and enter Australia. For a conference event, the most appropriate ETA is the ETA (Business Entrant) (Subclass 977). There is no visa application charge for ETA applications lodged online but a service fee of AUD$20 is charged for use of the ETA website. Passport holders from the following countries can apply for an ETA online.
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Brunei |
Malaysia |
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Canada |
Singapore |
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Hong Kong (Special Administrative Region) * |
South Korea |
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Japan |
United States of America |
Each family member who holds a passport from an ETA eligible country and wants to travel with you to Australia must apply for their own ETA. This includes children under the age of 18 who are included on your passport. The most appropriate ETA for accompanying family members is the ETA (Visitor) (Subclass 976). Further information on the visitor ETA can be found on the website: www.immi.gov.au/visitors/tourist/976/
See: www.eta.immi.gov.au/
[3] Business (Short Stay) visa (Subclass 456) — Paper-based applications
All other passport holders, not listed above, need to submit a paper-based application for a Business (Short Stay) visa (Subclass 456).
More information on this visa is available on the website.
See: www.immi.gov.au/skilled/business/456/
To find the nearest Australian visa office to your current place of residence.
See: www.immi.gov.au/contacts/overseas/index.htm
This visa application can also include family members wanting to travel with you to Australia such as spouse and dependent children.
We strongly encourage you to begin the application process as soon as possible.
If you require a letter for your visa application:
In some cases, it will be necessary for you to obtain a letter from us stating that you will be attending the 2015 ACM SIGMOD/PODS Conference. The process for requesting a visa letter is as follows:
1. Register for the conference.
2. Send your request for a visa letter via email to sigmodpods2015reg@iceaustralia.com. Please include the following information:
o Full name as it appears in your passport: Last Name, First and Middle Names
o Gender
o Email address
o Telephone number
o Detailed postal address
o Country of Passport; Passport Number; Passport Expiry Date
o Current country of residence
o Date of Birth
o Will you be presenting at the conference? If so, the paper or session you will be presenting.
o Proposed visit dates to Australia
3. We will email the letter as a PDF usually within 5 business days.
We are only able to generate visa letters for paid attendees and organising committee members, so it is important that you register for the conference before requesting a visa letter. If you have any questions, please contact sigmodpods2015reg@iceaustralia.com
