The Visitor visa (600): stays, limits and the onshore trap
Three, six or twelve months, $250, and a set of limits that catch long-stay visitors and hopeful switchers. How to use the 600 without burning future options.
Reviewed MARN 0317382Jul 2026 published5 min read
The Visitor (600) visa allows stays of three, six or occasionally twelve months for tourism or family visits, with a base charge of $250 from 1 July 2026. It is genuinely a visitor visa: no work, limited study, and scrutiny of whether you'll leave. Two conditions define its edges: 8558 (no more than 12 months in Australia in any 18) and, on some grants, 8503 (no further stay), which decides whether "I'll figure it out onshore" is even possible.
Getting granted: the genuine visitor test
Decision-makers weigh your ties home (employment, family, assets), travel history, funds, and the credibility of the visit's purpose. Refusals cluster around applicants from higher-risk profiles with thin ties and vague plans, and around serial long-stayers whose pattern looks like living here on visitor visas. Parents visiting family sit in a well-worn groove: sponsored streams and longer-validity options exist for them, with their own trade-offs.
The onshore switch, honestly
- No 8503? Onshore applications (partner, student, some others) are legally possible from a 600, but the sudden-switch pattern attracts scrutiny, and timing near expiry compounds it.
- 8503 present? Most onshore doors are closed. Plans must run offshore, or through a strictly-decided waiver after major unforeseen changes.
- 8558 arithmetic: long cumulative stays spend your 12-in-18 budget, and border officers do the math even when applicants don't.
Using it well
The 600 is excellent at what it's for: visits, reconnaissance trips before a migration decision, meeting a partner's family, attending a graduation. Treat it as the scouting visa, do the real application (skilled, partner, student, sponsored) from a position of strength, and it serves the bigger plan instead of complicating it.
General information only, current at 18 July 2026. Not immigration assistance or advice for your circumstances. Visacorp Pty Ltd — MARN 0317382 · 1799004 · 0104178.
Common questions
How long can I stay on a visitor visa?
Grants are typically three or six months per entry, sometimes twelve, and condition 8558 caps total time at 12 months in any 18-month period.
Can I apply for another visa while visiting Australia?
If your grant doesn't carry condition 8503, onshore applications are possible though scrutinised. With 8503, most onshore applications are blocked, and plans need to run offshore.
Can my parents get longer visitor visas?
Yes, sponsored and long-validity visitor arrangements exist for parents, with bonds, insurance expectations and stay limits. For many families they're the practical bridge while a parent-visa queue runs.
Unsure where your situation fits?
Twenty minutes with a registered agent is the fastest way to a straight answer.