What is 676 Long-Stay Visa?
The long-stay tourist visa (or subclass 676 visa) is a twelve month visa for travellers not eligible for an ETA visa, or for travellers who want to stay in Australia for longer than the three months allowed on an ETA.
Travellers from ETA-listed countries are allowed to apply for a long-stay tourist visa if they wish to visit Australia for longer than three months.

What you can do
On a long-stay tourist visa, you can spend up to 12 months in Australia. You are allowed to leave and re-enter as many times as you like, but your visa will not be put on hold while you are outside the country.

As with the ETA, you cannot have paid employment for any of these months, however; you can partake in an unpaid volunteer work tourism scheme. You can also study for up to three months.

Who can Apply
Passport holders from the following selected countries are eligible to apply for a 676 visa:

Andorra, Austria, Bahrain, Belgium, Brunei, Bulgaria, Canada, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hong Kong SAR, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Kuwait, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malaysia, Malta, Monaco, The Netherlands, Norway, Oman, Poland, Portugal, Qatar, Romania, San Marino, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, United States, Vatican City.

How to Apply
The long-stay tourist visas can be applied for online. Applications should only take about 10 days to process.

Some applications may take longer because a medical examination may be required for those who are thinking of staying in Australia for longer than six months.

Be prepared to prove you have sufficient funds to support your extended visit to Australia. Bank statements, pay slips, audited accounts or taxation records are some examples of accepted documentation.

You can apply online for an Australian Tourist Visa with the Australian Visa Bureau.

30 June 2008