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Visa pathways

The immigration matters we advise on, grouped by what you are trying to do. Each page explains who that pathway is for and what the Department of Home Affairs assesses.

General information, not legal advice. This page sets out how the law generally applies. It does not take account of your circumstances, and you should get advice about your own situation before acting on it. The official sources this page is written from are listed on it; where they differ from anything here, they are the authority.

If you already know which visa you need, go straight to it below. If you are not sure, the questions further down this page will help you narrow the field.

My Visa Lawyer is an informational website about Australian immigration law. What follows is general information rather than advice about your situation, and our guides go further on evidence, bridging visas and the first days after a refusal.

Staying with family

Pathways where the reason for being in Australia is a relationship.

Partner visas

For spouses and de facto partners of an Australian citizen, permanent resident or eligible New Zealand citizen. It answers which pathway fits, onshore (subclass 820 and 801) or offshore (subclass 309 and 100), and what evidence the Department looks for in a relationship.

Working and studying

Pathways that turn on your occupation, your qualifications or your course, and often on a nomination or a sponsor.

Skilled visas

For people whose skills and qualifications may support a work visa, whether you qualify on your own merits, through state or territory nomination, or through an employer. It answers how the points-tested visas (subclass 189, 190 and 491) work through a SkillSelect expression of interest, and where employer-sponsored options such as the Skills in Demand visa (subclass 482) and the Employer Nomination Scheme (subclass 186) fit.

Student visas

For people planning to enrol in an Australian course, and for students already here who need to change course or provider or work out what comes next. It answers what the Student visa (subclass 500) requires, including the Genuine Student requirement that replaced the genuine temporary entrant test, and how the Temporary Graduate visa (subclass 485) works afterwards.

Visiting for a short time

Short-stay pathways, and what to do if your plans change while you are here.

Visitor visas

For people coming to Australia as tourists, for business visits or to see family, and for visitors already here who want to stay longer. It answers which short-stay option applies, the Visitor visa (subclass 600), the Electronic Travel Authority (subclass 601) or eVisitor (subclass 651), and what a no further stay condition such as 8503 means.

When something has gone wrong

If a decision has already been made, the time limit to apply for review is strict, it is stated in your decision record, and in migration matters it cannot be extended.

Visa refusals and cancellations

For anyone whose visa has been refused or cancelled, or who has received a notice of intention to consider cancellation. It answers how to read your decision record, whether the Administrative Review Tribunal can review that decision, and why the time limit to apply is the first thing to check.

How to tell which pathway applies to you

Most people can narrow the field by answering a few questions: why you want to be in Australia, how long you need, and who can support the application. A partner, an employer, a state or territory government and an education provider each open different pathways.

Where you are matters as well. Some subclasses can only be applied for from inside Australia, and others only from outside.

So does your history. If you are in Australia without a substantive visa, a previous refusal or cancellation can bar a further application made here, under section 48 of the Migration Act 1958. There are exceptions. A condition on the visa you hold now can stop you applying for another one here, and health or character issues can affect any application. Check these before you lodge rather than after.

Why: joining family, working, studying or visiting
How long: a short visit, a temporary stay or permanent residence
Who can support it: a partner, an employer, a state or territory, or an education provider
Where you are: in Australia, outside it, or free to choose
What is already on your record: previous refusals or cancellations, the conditions on your current visa and any time spent unlawfully

The Department publishes the authoritative list

This page is an index of the matters we advise on. It is not the list of Australian visas. The Department of Home Affairs publishes that list, with the current criteria and charges for each subclass, and updates it as the law changes. Indicative processing times are published separately and change.

The Department also runs Explore visa options, which suggests visas that might suit your circumstances from a few questions. It is a starting point rather than advice, and the visa list remains the authority on what each subclass requires.

If the pathway you need is not on this page, we have not written about it yet. You are welcome to ask.

What you will not find on this site

There are no fees, processing times, success rates or case results on this site. Fees and processing times are published by the Department and change; whether an application succeeds depends on the law, the evidence and the decision maker. How we work sets out what a consultation involves.

Before you get in touch

A first conversation goes further if you have a few things in front of you. None of it is compulsory.