What is an ETA ?
An ETA, or Electronic Travel Authority, allows a person to stay up to 3 months in Australia on each arrival within 12 months of the processing date. To apply for an ETA you must be outside Australia and hold an Australian Government specified country passport. The full list can be found here, however, EasyETA keeps it simple for US Citizens and limits the citizenship of applicants to USA only. If you are not a US citizen, please do NOT apply for an ETA through EasyETA. An ETA is a bit different than a typical visa as there are no application forms to fill in and you aren’t given a visa label or stamp in your passport. Instead it’s a notification of arrival and is handled electronically. You must apply for your ETA with the same passport you will be traveling to Australia with!! If anything happens to your passport, you will need to re-apply for another passport.
An ETA is equivalent to a visa, but there is no stamp or label in your passport and there is no need for you to visit an Australian diplomatic office to submit an application. If you are ETA eligible you can submit applications directly through our website www.eta.immi.gov.au by clicking on the Apply for ETA button and, in most cases, we will be able to approve your ETA in less than 30 seconds. You can also check your ETA status, if you applied through this site, by clicking on the Check your ETA button. Gulf nationals are not eligible for ETA visas. Under a pilot program United Arab Emirates and Kuwaiti nationals can apply online for a visitor visa. Applications can be made by visiting www.immi.gov.
