Australia: visa and entry rules
What you need to get in, how long you may stay, and what an overstay costs
Australia's borders: every crossing point
Other 5
Airports 10
Australia is an island continent and has no land borders.
All entry is by air or by sea. The main airports are Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Perth.
The maritime border with Papua New Guinea runs through the Torres Strait, and residents of the border islands are covered by a special arrangement that has nothing to do with tourists.
Cruise ships are handled by Sydney, Brisbane and Fremantle.
Biosecurity control on entry is strict. Australia severely restricts the import of food, seeds, wood and any organic material; everyone has to fill in a declaration, and the fines for failing to declare are serious.
Bringing a car into Australia
You cannot drive here overland — there are no land borders.
Cars are brought in by sea, and that is a separate, complicated procedure involving a carnet and strict quarantine control.
Traffic drives on the left.
A licence in English is accepted directly; in any other language you need a certified translation or an International Driving Permit.
Distances are enormous, and on routes into the interior of the continent petrol stations can be several hundred kilometres apart.
Travelling to Australia with a pet
The rules are the strictest in the world, and from a country that is not approved an animal cannot be brought in directly. Australia sorts countries by their level of rabies risk, and only those on the approved list qualify.
The only route is through an intermediate country: the animal must live in an approved country for at least six months, and only from there can it be imported.
Quarantine on arrival is compulsory — at least 10 days in a government quarantine facility, at your own expense.
The import permit is arranged in advance, and preparation takes six months or more.
This is not a destination you travel to with a pet on the spur of the moment — you need to plan a year ahead.
Overstaying your visa in Australia
The visa is cancelled, and you fall into unlawful status.
An entry ban of three years or more is applied in practically every case.
Deportation is paid for by the offender.
The amount of the fine in Australia will be quoted to you at the border on departure. There is no way to find it out in advance — keep a cash reserve for the day you leave.
Australia keeps strict records, and an overstay closes the door not only here but to New Zealand as well.
What else to check before you go
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Entry rules change faster than anything else on this site, and they change without notice. We cross-check every page against several sources and state the date it was verified, but that does not replace the main step: before you travel, check an official source — the country’s consulate, its immigration service or its e-visa portal. Especially if more than a couple of months have passed since our check.