Polish nationals who migrate to Australia are required to hold valid visas, issued in accordance with the purpose of their stay. There aren’t any visa exemptions for Polish nationals or any other European nationals and, in general, Australia grants visa exemptions only for New Zealand citizens.
As such, all foreigners, including persons who have a passport issued by Poland, must complete adequate immigration formalities before their arrival in the country. For in-depth information concerning the visa formalities applicable to a case, our Australia migration lawyer remains at your service.
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Visas for short-term stays in Australia
The formalities for immigration to Australia are divided into 2 main categories, differentiated on the duration of the stay. The legislation in Australia recognizes 2 categories of stays – stays of up to 90 days in a period of 180 days, and stays longer than 90 days.
This is very important, as for the 1st case, foreigners only have to obtain the visa necessary for their purpose of arrival (in general, they apply for a tourist visa, which allows the right to stay here for maximum 90 days at a time).
For the 2nd situation, all foreigners, regardless of their nationality and country of arrival, must complete mandatory steps for residency in Australia.
This means that they must have a valid visa which allows the right to apply for residency, after which, the foreigner must conduct, in person, the steps for the issuance of a residence permit (a procedure completed while being in Australia).
Currently, the legislation on immigration in Australia provides 3 types of visas issued for short-term stays (they can be granted for stays of up to 1 year in certain cases). Our immigration lawyer in Australia has prepared a short presentation on these visas:
- Subclass 600 visa – it can be issued for tourism or business purposes;
- Subclass 601 visa – also known as the Electronic Travel Authority visa – it is open for certain nationalities and it can be obtained online following very simple steps;
- Subclass 651 visa – this visa is similar with the Subclass 601 and it is created especially for European nationals, including Polish passport holders, and it can be obtained as an electronic visa;
- the Subclass 651 visa grants the right to migrate to Australia for a period of 3 months at a time and it is valid for a period of 12 months;
- please know that Subclass 651 can’t be used for medical-related services – for this, Polish nationals can apply for the Subclass 600 visa, which also grants this right.
How can Polish nationals migrate to Australia for employment?
Most of the foreigners who relocate to Australia for a limited period of time or for an undetermined stay, arrive here for work related opportunities. Australia has a strong economy, which attracts many foreigners each year and such, the local authorities have created a variety of work visas. The main visa categories are the following:
- visas for temporary employment;
- visas for regional migration (they are available only for certain parts of the country);
- visas for short stay work;
- skilled visas;
- permanent work visas (which can open the opportunity to apply for Australian citizenship by naturalization).
Therefore, Polish nationals relocating to Australia can apply for any of the categories mentioned above, as long as they qualify under the conditions imposed for a class of visas. According to the Department of Home Affairs, some of the permanent work visas are:
- Subclass 189 – Skilled Independent visa;
- Subclass 887 – Skilled Regional visa;
- Subclass 858 – Global Talent visa;
- Subclass 186 – Employer Nomination Scheme visa.
We invite you to contact our Australia migration lawyer for more in-depth details on the visas presented in this article, as well as on other types of visas available here (business visas, family reunification visas, investment visas, etc.).
