Outside of consular, passport and notarial services, which are provided by the Australian Consulate-General, we are unable to provide further information than is outlined below. Please also note the Australian Consulate-General does not manage enquiries relating to visas or entry-exit requirements to Australia, New Caledonia or Wallis-and-Futuna and we are unable to escalate applications or issues with the authorities in Australia, New Caledonia or Wallis-and-Futuna.
The Australian Department of Home Affairs does not have an office at the Australian Consulate-General in Noumea. The Australian Consulate-General in Noumea has no visa or other Home Affairs function and does not process visa applications or respond to visa or other Home Affairs enquiries
Regulations and procedures can be subject to change at short notice. Please read the information provided below carefully and regularly check all official links for the most up-to-date information and instructions applicable to your circumstances.
For information on entering and leaving Australia, visas, Australian citizenship, what Home Affairs does, settling in Australia, importing-exporting-buying, and for help and support, please visit the Home Affairs website at Department of Home Affairs (homeaffairs.gov.au). Please also check the information and links provided below to assist you as best possible with your Home Affairs enquiries. Please read these carefully as applicable to your circumstances and contact your airline including Aircalin or Qantas, travel agent, employer or Home Affairs directly as required for assistance. Check also with your airline including Aircalin or Qantas, or cruise line on their boarding conditions and on regulations applicable to travel by minors, including those unaccompanied.
Australian citizenship - You can apply online for Australian citizenship through ImmiAccount. For further information, please check information and application processes for Australian citizenship by descent or for Australian citizenship for children adopted outside Australia. If you require further proof of your Australian citizenship, you will need to apply online with Home Affairs for an Evidence of citizenship (homeaffairs.gov.au). Once you have been granted Australian citizenship by Home Affairs, you will need to apply for an Australian passport - Home Affairs advises Australian citizens should depart from and return to Australia on an Australian passport and should not apply for visas to Australia on their foreign passports. Home Affairs further advises Australian citizens seeking to enter Australia on another country's passport may experience difficulties and delays while their identity and citizenship is confirmed by Home Affairs.
Before you book your travel, check regulations as applicable to your circumstances - It is your responsibility to ensure you meet the requirements of the airline or vessel operator you are travelling with and of countries you are travelling to or transiting through. You are responsible for checking requirements applicable to your circumstances regarding visas, entry permits and exemptions, quarantine (possibly at your own expense), mandatory health and other declarations, COVID-19 testing and vaccination, use of face masks, as well as insurance to cover your specific travel, condition and circumstances. Also check the safety and COVID-19 plans applied by the airline or cruise company you intend travelling with and ensure you meet their requirements. If you need information or assistance, please contact your airline or travel provider, employer and the relevant competent authorities in Australia, New Caledonia and in Wallis-and-Futuna directly.
Comprehensive travel insurance - If you’re leaving Australia, travel insurance is just as essential as a passport. Without it, you or your family could suffer financially if things go wrong. Ensure your travel insurance (check the CHOICE travel insurance buying guide) covers you for the places you’ll visit, the things you’ll do and any pre-existing medical conditions you have. Some destinations may also require travellers to hold travel insurance as a condition of entry. No matter who you are, where you're going and what you're doing, get insurance as the Australian Government will not pay your medical costs or your medical evacuation costs.
For customs information and mandatory declarations (entering and leaving Australia by air or sea, including arrival policies, what you can bring, duty-free and tourist refund scheme), please check out the Australian Border Force (ABF) online information.
1. HOME AFFAIRS TRAVEL AND BORDER INFORMATION
a) Vaccination requirements and status
Home Affairs advises that, from 6 July 2022:
- People entering Australia do not need to provide evidence of vaccination status;
- People entering Australia do not need to complete the Digital Passenger Declaration or Maritime Travel Declaration;
- People leaving Australia will not be asked to provide evidence of their vaccination status;
- Unvaccinated visa holders do not need a travel exemption to travel to Australia.
Home Affairs advises it is important to remember that airlines, vessel operators and other countries may have specific requirements that travellers need to comply with.
b) Visas to Australia
Home Affairs advises Australian citizens should depart from and return to Australia on an Australian passport and should not apply for visas to Australia on their foreign passports.
Home Affairs recommends foreign travellers hold a passport valid for at least six (6) months and to enter Australia on a visa appropriate to their circumstances. To find the visa appropriate for your travel purpose, please check the Visa Finder options online as well as the Visa List and the Global visa processing times applicable to each visa.
Home Affairs advises you should not book flights or make travel commitments until you have an appropriate visa to travel to Australia. Home Affairs further advises it will not be liable for any financial loss incurred by clients whose visa application was finalised later than expected or where an application is unsuccessful.
- You can apply online for most Australian visas through ImmiAccount. Home Affairs also advises you can check you visa status using myVEVO. If you are not eligible to apply for an online visa and need to travel to or transit through Australia, please check the Visa Support online to apply on paper with Home Affairs.
- When applying for a visa, you should enter your data as it appears on your passport, including the passport number as it appears in the machine-readable zone at the bottom left of the passport biodata page.
- You can withdraw your visa application if you don’t wish or can’t travel on the dates originally provided as Home Affairs cannot extend a visa validity.
- If you have a valid visa but have a new passport, follow the instructions to update your passport details.
- Diplomatic passport holders travelling to Australia to attend meetings as Government official travelling on official business may need to include in their visa application a Third Person Note (TPN) as well as scans of passports and itineraries. For transits through Australia, diplomatic passport holders may be eligible to transit without a visa, depending on the nationality and the length of transit time. For more information, see Transit Without A Visa eligibility. If you are not eligible to transit without a visa, you will need to apply online for a Transit visa.
- eVisitor visas for European (including French passports) and other eligible passport holders - eVisitor (subclass 651) visa and list of countries eligible to the eVisitor subclass 651 – this visa is free and allows you to travel to Australia for tourism or business visitor purposes for up to 3 months at a time within a 12-month period.
- eVisitor visas for other passport holders or travel to Australia for tourism or business visits for up to 3, 6 or 12 months - eVisitor (subclass 600) visa - fees apply.
- ETA visas - ETA (Electronic Travel Authority) (subclass 601) - there is no Visa Application Charge (VAC), however, there may be an application service charge of AUD20. Your airline or travel agent can assist you with ETA visas.
- Transiting Australia - Transit visa and Transit Without A Visa eligibility – check applicable conditions depending on your nationality and the length of your transit time.
- Travelling to Australia for medical reasons - Visa for medical treatment and appointments in Australia (subclass 602) - people travelling to Australia for medical treatment or to support someone needing medical treatment, must travel on a Medical Treatment Visa, which is only available as an online application.
- Student visas - International student visa (subclass 500) and graduate visa (subclass 485) (homeaffairs.gov.au) and check also educational information available on Study in Australia.
- Working Holiday visas - Working Holiday Maker (WHM) program (homeaffairs.gov.au)
- If you hold a valid permanent or provisional Family visa and you cannot travel to Australia before the first entry arrival date of your visa, you can complete the travel facilitation letter request form.
- If you have an enquiry about a Child, Adoption or Orphan Relative visa, you can complete the Child and orphan relative visa processing centre form.
- Requesting travel records from Home Affairs - you can ask for a record of your specific dates of travel in and out of Australia at International movement records (homeaffairs.gov.au).
- Medical and health examinations required by Home Affairs for visa applications - please check Meeting Home Affairs health requirements for more information and select your country of residence to find a Home Affairs registered Panel physician.
- Biometric data collection by Home Affairs is available on the Home Affairs website at Biometrics (homeaffairs.gov.au).
- Information on English language proficiency tests and examination centres is available on the Home Affairs website at Meeting our requirements - English language. Please contact the language testing centres directly for further information and assistance.
c) Pre-departure testing and domestic health regulations
Australia does not require you to undertake any pre-departure COVID-19 testing to enter, leave or transit Australia. However, some states and territories may require you to take a COVID-19 test soon after arrival.
International passengers arriving in Australia are not automatically permitted to transit to another state or territory, domestic travel restrictions may apply. Check Australian State and Territory regulations, including for children, entry registration forms, quarantine, domestic vaccination requirements and domestic transit travel in Australia. Check the below links regularly as regulations and procedures can be subject to change at short notice.
- Australia’s border is open, find out about travel to Australia and overseas - International travel and COVID-19 | Australian Government Department of Health and Aged Care
- State and Territory information for international travellers (australia.gov.au)
- COVID-19 information for international arrivals | NSW Government
- Entering Queensland from overseas | Health and wellbeing | Queensland Government (www.qld.gov.au)
2. HOME AFFAIRS TROUBLESHOOTING GUIDE AND CONTACTING HOME AFFAIRS
If you are having issues with your ImmiAccount or visa or citizenship application, Home Affairs recommends you follow their troubleshooting guide below or call their Global Services Centre (GSC) for assistance or to use the Australian Immigration Enquiry Form to contact the nearest Home Affairs Office (for New Caledonia and Wallis-and-Futuna, the nearest Home Affairs’ office is located in Suva, Fiji), as applicable to your circumstances:
- If you wish to speak to Home Affairs or discuss your circumstance with Home Affairs, please call the Home Affairs Global Service Centre(GSC) (in Australia 131 881 – outside Australia +61 2 6196 0196) open Monday to Friday from 9am to 5pm (local time). The Home Affairs GSC provides language support services using the Translating and Interpreting Service (TIS) across the service window, in over 160 languages, including French. Home Affairs advises to listen to the options available when calling their GSC number and to press 6 to engage a TIS interpreter in your language. Option 6 can also be selected straight after dialling the GSC number.
- Check the Global visa processing times. Home Affairs advises they will not respond to progress enquiries if the application is within Global visa processing times.
- Please also check Family and friends helping with your application (homeaffairs.gov.au) for information on who can help you with your application.
- For technical help and support with you ImmiAccount and error messages received, please check the Home Affairs information available under Technical Help for ImmiAccount (homeaffairs.gov.au).
- Submit the ImmiAccount technical support form including with a screenshot of the issue you are experiencing where possible and a copy of the biodata page of your passport.
- If you already hold a visa you can check your visa status and entitlements using Visa Entitlement Verification Online (VEVO). If you cannot find your departmental reference number or you no longer have your visa grant notification you can request this information by completing the Request for reference number form. Your reference number will then be emailed to you.
- If all of the above have not allowed you to resolve your issue, contact the Visa Office at the Australian High Commission in Suva (Fiji) using the Australian Immigration Enquiry Form (for New Caledonia and Wallis and Futuna, select Suva in the contact section and provide copies of supporting documents as applicable to your circumstances, including your passport biodata page). Home Affairs advised the expected response time for your enquiry is currently 5 business days and that you should not send multiple enquiries within this time period.
Home Affairs values your feedback and uses it to improve their services and investigate and respond to any issues of concern. Please check Provide feedback – compliments, complaints and suggestions to provide your feedback to the Australian Department of Home Affairs.
The Australian Department of Home Affairs does not have an office at the Australian Consulate-General in Noumea. The Australian Consulate-General in Noumea has no visa or other Home Affairs function and does not process visa applications or respond to visa or other Home Affairs enquiries.