When you do not need a Transit visa
Important: The information is not applicable to stateless persons and refugees.
If you belong to one of the categories and meet the criteria outlined below, you can transit through Australia without applying for a visa.
Categories of eligible travellers
The following categories of travellers are eligible to transit through Australia without applying for a visa:
Citizens of the following countries:
Andorra, Argentina, Austria, Belgium, Brunei, Bulgaria, Canada, Chile, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Federated States of Micronesia, Fiji, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Indonesia, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Kiribati, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malaysia, Malta, Marshall Islands, Mexico, Monaco, Nauru, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Oman, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Qatar, Samoa, San Marino, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, Solomon Islands, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Thailand, Tonga, Tuvalu, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom (including its colonies), United States of America, Vanuatu and Vatican.
Residents of Hong Kong holding a Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) passport or a British National Overseas (BNO) passport.
Residents of Taiwan holding a passport issued by the authorities of Taiwan (other than passports purported to be official or diplomatic passports).
Diplomatic passport holders, excluding holders of:
Arab Non-National Passports; and
Diplomatic passports from the following countries:
Afghanistan, Algeria, Angola, Bahrain, Comoros, Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Madagascar, Mauritania, Morocco, Pakistan, Russian Federation, Saudi Arabia,Sierra Leone, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, Taiwan, Tunisia, Yemen and Zimbabwe.
Criteria
Eligible travellers must be able to meet the following criteria to be permitted to transit Australia without applying for a visa. Travellers must:
enter Australia by aircraft
hold a confirmed onward booking to leave Australia to travel to a third country on the same or another aircraft within 8 hours of arrival in Australia
hold documentation necessary to enter the country of destination
and
not need to leave the airport transit lounge except to continue their journey.
Notes:
If passengers are required to pass through Immigration clearance and check-in to their onward flight, including managing their luggage, they will require a visa to enter Australia. An appropriate visa for this purpose will need to be applied for and granted before travelling to Australia.
There are limited transit facilities available at the Gold Coast airport (OLD).
Overnight stays are not permitted at Cairns (CNS) and Sydney (SYD) airports. Passengers transiting overnight will need an appropriate visa for Australia to leave the airport to access overnight accommodation.
Transit facilities at Adelaide airport (ADL) are only available for passengers arriving and departing on the same aircraft. However the transit lounge will be made available for other transit passengers if the airline provides advance notice.