Visiting Australia as a Canadian Family: Kids, Partners and Mixed Passports
There is no family application for Australian visitor visas. Each person needs their own visa, and the passport each person travels on decides which one. Canadian passport holders, babies included, each need an ETA. A partner on a passport that isn't ETA- or eVisitor-eligible, such as an Indian, Filipino or Chinese passport, may be eligible for a Visitor visa (subclass 600), which takes weeks. Start that one first.
Independent guide — not a government service. Australian Visa Online is an independent information resource. We are not affiliated with the Australian Government or the Department of Home Affairs, and we do not lodge applications on your behalf.
For the Canadian passport itself, our ETA guide for Canadian citizens covers how the app works. This page deals with what happens when a family's passports don't all match.
Who needs which visa: passport by passport
| Family member | Visa | Where to apply | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Canadian citizen (adult or child) | ETA (subclass 601) | Australian ETA app | AU$20 each |
| Partner on a passport not on the ETA or eVisitor lists (for example India, the Philippines, China) | May be eligible for a Visitor visa (subclass 600) | ImmiAccount | From AU$250 each (Tourist stream, applying outside Australia) |
| Partner with a UK (British Citizen) or Irish passport | ETA or the free eVisitor, their choice | App (ETA) or ImmiAccount (eVisitor) | AU$20 or free |
| Canadian permanent resident | Whatever their own passport allows | Depends on passport | Depends on passport |
| Dual Canadian–Australian citizen | No visa: travel on the Australian passport | Not applicable | Not applicable |
| New Zealand citizen | No visa in advance; Special Category visa (subclass 444) on arrival | At the border | Not applicable |
Two rules sit behind every row. First, Home Affairs says "You can't include family members in your application. Each family member, including those listed on your passport, must submit a separate application." That applies to the ETA, the eVisitor and the 600. Second, everyone apart from New Zealand and Australian passport holders needs their visa before they travel.
The partner on a visa-required passport
This is the application that sets your timetable. Home Affairs' ETA page says holders of other passports "may be eligible for a Visitor (subclass 600) visa". For a family holiday that's usually the Tourist stream, applied for outside Australia.
- Cost: from AU$250 per applicant. Other costs, such as health checks or police certificates, can apply on top. Check the current Australian visa fee schedule before you pay.
- Processing: Home Affairs' processing-times tool shows 50% of Tourist stream applications processed in 18 days and 90% in 38 days. That's a guide, not a guarantee.
- Stay: "Generally, we grant a stay period of 3 months," though Home Affairs may grant up to 12 months in certain circumstances.
- Evidence: the 600 is a document-based application. Home Affairs asks for proof that the applicant is a genuine temporary visitor, such as bank statements, an invitation letter and proof of ties to home. For a partner who lives in Canada, the checklist's examples fit naturally: a letter from their employer, proof of a home they own, and immediate family at home.
- Health: for a visit shorter than 6 months, the health examination table says "no health examinations needed unless special circumstances apply", for applicants from both low- and high-TB-risk countries. Visitors aged 75 or older applying for a 600 need a medical examination and a serum creatinine/eGFR test.
Our Visitor visa subclass 600 guide walks through the streams and the documents.
Timing: start with the slowest application
The ETAs for Canadian family members usually come back immediately. The 600 for a partner can take weeks. So work backwards from the slow one:
- Lodge the partner's subclass 600 first, well before you'd want to book.
- Wait for the grant in writing. For the 600, Home Affairs says "Do not arrange to travel to Australia until we let you know, in writing, that we have granted you the visa."
- Then apply for the Canadians' ETAs in one sitting, before booking non-refundable travel. The ETA is valid for 12 months from grant, so there's no benefit in applying for it before the 600 comes through.
- Book. Everyone's visa is now in place.
Plan the length of the trip around the shortest stay. Canadians on an ETA can stay up to 3 months after each entry, and the ETA can't be extended. If the partner's 600 is granted for longer, the Canadian family members still can't stay beyond 3 months per entry on their ETAs.
Doing the ETAs together on one phone
You don't need a phone per person. Home Affairs says: "If all family members apply using the same mobile device, you can submit and pay for the applications at the same time." That's AU$20 for each application.
The catch is presence. A friend or family member can help someone apply, but "you must be physically with them when you apply". Each applicant needs their own live photo, taken on the phone the application is made on, with no other people in the frame. With small children, that means one calm session with everyone in the room and each child photographed alone. Our ETA timing guide for Canadians covers what to do if one family member's result takes longer.
Children, babies and teenagers
- Every child needs their own visa. A baby on a Canadian passport needs an ETA, applied for separately. A child can't be added to a parent's application.
- Best interests test. For both the ETA and the eVisitor, Home Affairs says "We might not grant this visa if it is not in the best interests of an applicant under 18."
- Arrival cards. A parent or guardian can complete the Incoming Passenger Card for a child in their care.
- SmartGate. Children aged 7 and over who are at least 1.1 m tall can use the arrivals SmartGates if they have an ePassport and are travelling with a parent or legal guardian. Unaccompanied children under 16 can't use them.
One parent travelling with the kids
The rules differ depending on the child's visa.
Canadian children on an ETA. Australia's Form 1229 (consent to grant a visa to a child under 18) states it "is not for the use of ... Electronic Travel Authority (ETA) or eVisitor applicants who are under 18 years of age." So Form 1229 isn't part of an ETA application.
Canada's own advice still applies on the Canadian side. The Government of Canada recommends that "children travelling outside Canada without one or both parents or legal guardians carry a signed consent letter". It says a consent letter "is not legally required in Canada" but may be requested by immigration authorities, airline agents or Canadian officials, and that any child under 19 should carry one when travelling abroad without both parents.
A child on a subclass 600. If a child in the family travels on a visa-required passport, the 600 rules are stricter. Anyone with a legal right to decide where the child lives who is not travelling with them "must complete either: Form 1229 ... a statutory declaration giving their consent". Under-18 applicants should also provide a birth certificate showing the names of both parents.
Dual citizens and Canadian permanent residents
Canadian and Australian. If you're also an Australian citizen, you can't get an ETA. Home Affairs says Australian citizens should use their Australian passport to enter and leave Australia; without one, entry "will be more difficult" and the airline might not let you board. Canada's travel advice adds that if you're a citizen of both countries, Canada's "ability to offer you consular services may be limited while you're there."
Canadian and another country (not Australia). You must declare your other passport in the ETA application. You then have to enter and leave Australia on the passport you used for the visa; showing a different one can mean being refused boarding.
Canadian permanent residents. A PR card isn't a passport. The ETA needs "a valid passport" from an eligible country, and Home Affairs says you can't apply with "a non-citizen passport, certificate of identity or other travel document, such as a Titre de Voyage." A family member with Canadian PR travels on their own citizenship's passport, and that passport decides whether they need an ETA, an eVisitor or a 600.
New Zealand family members
A New Zealander in the family needs no visa before travel. New Zealand citizens with a valid New Zealand passport can apply for a Special Category visa (subclass 444) when they enter Australia. The Border Force says it grants most New Zealand citizens this visa on arrival, "subject to meeting health and character requirements", and that "New Zealand citizens with criminal convictions might not be eligible". Our guide to Australian visas for New Zealand citizens has more.
One more family-wide rule: if you or any family member, including those not applying with you, owes the Australian Government money, it must be paid back or under a repayment arrangement.
A worked example
Say you're a Canadian citizen in Calgary. Your spouse holds an Indian passport and Canadian permanent residence. Your children, aged 9 and 3, have Canadian passports. You want three weeks in Queensland next winter, and your cousin, a New Zealand citizen, will meet you there.
- Your spouse: Indian passport, so not ETA- or eVisitor-eligible. They apply for a subclass 600 (Tourist stream) in ImmiAccount first, from AU$250, with their Canadian PR, job and home in Calgary as part of their evidence. A three-week visit is under the 6-month health-exam threshold.
- You and the children: once the 600 is granted, you apply for three ETAs on one phone in one sitting, with each child photographed alone. That's AU$60 in total.
- Your cousin: no visa needed in advance; they get a Special Category visa on arrival.
- Booking: only after all four visas are granted.
- At the airport: your 9-year-old may be able to go through SmartGate with you (if at least 1.1 m tall); your 3-year-old can't, so the family may use the staffed desk together.
Now change one detail: you fly alone with the children while your spouse joins later. The children's ETAs need no Australian consent form, but Canada recommends a consent letter signed by your spouse for the trip.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does my baby need an ETA to visit Australia?
Yes. Every family member, including children listed on a parent's passport, must submit a separate application. A baby on a Canadian passport needs their own ETA at AU$20. You can submit and pay for all the family's ETAs together if you use the same phone.
My spouse isn't Canadian. Can they get an ETA with me?
Only if their own passport is on the ETA list. Eligibility follows the passport, not your marriage or their Canadian permanent residence. If their passport isn't on the ETA or eVisitor lists, they may be eligible for a Visitor visa (subclass 600), which takes weeks to process.
Should we apply for the ETAs or the 600 first?
The 600. Home Affairs' tool shows 50% of Tourist stream applications processed in 18 days and 90% in 38 days, while most ETAs are decided immediately. Apply for the 600, wait for the written grant, then do the ETAs and book.
Do I need Form 1229 if I travel alone with my Canadian kids?
Not for their ETAs. Form 1229 says it is not for ETA or eVisitor applicants under 18. It does apply to subclass 600 applicants under 18 when a parent isn't travelling. Canada separately recommends a signed consent letter for children travelling without both parents.
Can a dual Canadian–Australian citizen travel on an ETA?
No. Home Affairs says Australian citizens can't apply for an ETA, even on an eligible foreign passport, and should use their Australian passport to enter and leave Australia. Without one, entry will be more difficult and the airline might refuse boarding.
