Vaccinations
If it is your intention to enrol your children in an Australian school or childcare centre (crèche or preschool) during your visit to Australia, you are strongly encouraged to carry certification of your child’s vaccination status. Certification may be sought at time of enrolment.
Vaccination is recommended against polio, tetanus, measles, mumps, rubella, diphtheria, pertussis (whooping cough), Haemophilus influenza hypo (Hib) and Hepatitis B.
Note: Vaccination against rubella is also recommended for women of child bearing age.
Passport information
Most visa applicants will be required to hold a valid passport before they can be granted a visa. It is strongly recommended that the passport be valid for at least 6 months.
If you change your passport after you have been granted the visa you must notify the nearest Australian Visa Office or office of the department.
If you do not provide us with the details of any new or additional passport you use to travel to Australia, you may experience significant delays at the airport and may be denied permission to board your plane.
Residential address
You must provide the address of where you intend to live during the period that your application is being considered. Failure to give your residential address will result in this application being invalid. A post office box address will not be accepted as your residential address.
Change of address
If you change your residential address for more than 14 days while your application is being processed, you must tell the department your new address and how long you will be there. The department will send communication about your application to the latest address for correspondence you have provided.
Modified Non-Return Rate data
The Modified Non-Return Rate (MNRR) is a calculation of the people who arrive on a Visitor visa, but do not depart before their visa expires, other than those who are granted Skilled, Visitor or Student visas in Australia.
The MNRR is used as an indicator of Visitor visa compliance, and may be considered by decision makers to determine the level of scrutiny to apply to the application.
If you are from a country with a high MNRR it is in your interests to provide additional documentation as indicated on page 15, supporting your application.
MNRR data can be found at
www.immi.gov.au/media/statistics/visitor.htm
Immigration assistance
A person gives immigration assistance to you if he or she uses, or claims to use, his or her knowledge or experience in migration procedure to assist you with your visa application, request for ministerial intervention, cancellation review application, sponsorship or nomination.
In Australia a person may only lawfully give immigration assistance if he or she is a registered migration agent or is exempt from being registered. Only registered migration agents may receive a fee or reward for providing immigration assistance.
If an unregistered person in Australia, who is not exempt from registration, gives you immigration assistance they are committing a criminal offence and may be prosecuted.
Sponsors of applicants for Visitor visas – Sponsored Family stream are exempt from the requirements to be registered as a migration agent in order to assist application in relation to Visitor visas – Sponsored Family stream.
Migration agents in Australia
Migration agents in Australia must be registered with the Office of the Migration Agents Registration Authority (Office of the MARA) unless they are exempt from registration.
Migration agents outside Australia
Migration agents who operate outside Australia do not have to be registered. The department may give some overseas agents an ID number. This number does not mean that they are registered.
Note: Some Australian registered migration agents operate overseas.
Migration agent information
A migration agent is someone who can:
• advise you on the visa that may best suit you;
• tell you the documents you need to submit with your application;
• help you fill in the application and submit it; and
• communicate with the department on your behalf.
If you appoint a migration agent, the department will assume that your migration agent will be your authorised recipient, unless you indicate otherwise.
Your migration agent will be the person with whom the department will discuss your application and from whom it will seek further information when required.
You are not required to use a migration agent. However, if you use a migration agent, the department encourages you to use a registered migration agent. Registered agents are bound by the Migration Agents Code of Conduct, which requires them to act professionally in their clients’ lawful best interests.
Information on migration agents, including a list of registered migration agents, is available on the Office of the MARA website www.mara.gov.au
You can also access information about migration agents on the department’s website www.immi.gov.au