All foreigners who want to immigrate to Australia from Netherlands, regardless of the purpose of the arrival, are required to have a valid visa and a valid passport. Visa formalities must be completed even in the case in which the Dutch national arrives here for tourism purposes.
Although many countries grant visa exemptions for tourism purposes for the nationals of certain countries, Australia does not provide visa exemptions. However, immigration to Australia for Dutch nationals arriving for tourism benefits from simple formalities.
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Applying for an electronic visa in Australia
Dutch nationals who immigrate to Australia from Netherlands for short-term stays (they refer to arrivals that have a duration of maximum 90 days and which do not imply any formalities for residency in Australia) benefit from the right of applying for an electronic visa.
The electronic visa is a type of tourist visa that can be issued for certain foreign nationals, including for Dutch citizens. In other words, some foreigners arriving for short-term stays must apply for a standard visitor visa, by addressing the Australian embassy in their home countries, while others can apply for the visitor visa online.
The electronic visa can be obtained online in the same day when the foreigner applies for it, but in all cases, the foreigner must be in the possession of this electronic document when arriving on Australian territory. The characteristics of the electronic visitor visa are:
- the document has a validity of 12 months;
- the visa holder can migrate to Australia for a period of maximum 3 months at a time;
- the document can be processed within 1 day (the maximum time being of 2 days);
- the electronic visa is known as the Subclass 651;
- the application for the visa can be completed in around 10 minutes.
What is the data on Dutch Australians?
Dutch Australians refer to the ethnic group of Australian citizens/residents who have arrived from the Netherlands to settle in this country. The latest censuses carried out in Australia revealed the following:
- the 2021 census showed that there were 381,946 persons living in Australia and having Dutch ancestry;
- this value accounted for 1,5% of the entire Australian population;
- the previous census, the one from 2011, showed that 18% of the persons who chose to immigrate to Australia from Netherlands opted for Melbourne as their residency;
- the 2011 census revealed that 45% of the Dutch immigrants represent families without any children and that 76% of all Dutch immigrants have obtained Australian citizenship after they decided to move to Australia from Netherlands;
- over the decades, the number of Dutch nationals increased at a steady rate (for instance, in 1950s, there were only 16,000 Dutch immigrants, while in 1960s, the numbers increased above 100,000, according to the data of the Dutch Australian Culture Centre).
What visa options do Dutch nationals have?
Foreigners who immigrate to Australia from Netherlands can apply for any of the visas that are issued under the immigration law. Our Australia migration lawyer can present all the visa options and the formalities that must be completed in order to obtain a specific document.
Considering that Dutch nationals are, in general, very well educated individuals, many arrive here under visas that can offer multiple benefits, such as permanent residency. Such visas are usually granted for those who relocate to Australia from Netherlands for skilled employment or for business/investments, but family reunification visa streams can offer similar rights.
Skilled employment visas can be initially issued as provisional visas, which can later on be transformed into permanent visas. These are Subclasses 489, 485 or 476. Permanent visas can be obtained under the Global Talent program, which can be detailed by our immigration lawyer in Australia, if you contact us via e-mail.
