Visiting Australia as an Irish Family: Kids, Partners and Mixed Passports

Visiting Australia as an Irish Family: Kids, Partners and Mixed Passports

Every person in the family needs their own Australian visa, babies included, and each visa depends on the passport that person travels on. Family members on Irish passports can use the free eVisitor. A partner whose passport isn't on the eVisitor or ETA lists, such as a Brazilian, Indian or Nigerian passport, will usually need a Visitor visa (subclass 600), and that application should go in first.

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This page sorts out who needs what in a mixed Irish household. For visa options on an Irish passport in general, see our guide to Australian visas for Irish citizens.

Which visa each passport in the family gets

Twelve EU states aren't on the ETA list: Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia. A partner on one of those passports can't join an all-ETA family, so unless someone travels on a US or Canadian passport, the simplest plan is eVisitors for everyone.

One person, one application, babies included

Neither the eVisitor nor the ETA has a family application. Home Affairs says: "A separate application must be made for each member of your family, including those listed on your passport." The ETA page says the same and adds that if everyone applies on the same mobile device, "you can submit and pay for the applications at the same time."

In practice that means:

• A baby needs their own passport and their own visa before the family can fly.
• Children can't be added to a parent's eVisitor or ETA.
• For the ETA, you can help a family member apply, but "you must be physically with them when you apply", because the app takes a live photo of each applicant.

Irish parent, partner on a visa-required passport

This combination sets the whole trip's timeline. Say your partner holds a Brazilian, Indian or Nigerian passport. Those aren't on the eVisitor or ETA lists, so your partner's usual route is a Visitor visa (subclass 600), normally in the Tourist stream from outside Australia:

• Cost: from AUD250 per applicant. Other costs can apply for health checks, police certificates and biometrics. See the 2026 visa fees schedule.
• Time: Home Affairs' published figures for the Tourist stream are 18 days for 50% of applications and 38 days for 90%. The Irish eVisitors are typically decided in under a day.
• Stay: generally 3 months, and up to 12 months in certain circumstances, decided case by case.
• Evidence: the 600 is assessed on whether your partner is a genuine visitor with enough money for the trip. Home Affairs' document list includes bank statements for a 3-month period, payslips, a letter from an employer confirming they'll return to their job, and proof of family members in their home country. For a partner living in Ireland, that means evidence of their job, home and family life here.
• Booking: Home Affairs says not to arrange travel until it confirms the grant in writing.

Our subclass 600 guide covers the full application.

Irish–British households

Irish passports and UK British Citizen passports are both on the eVisitor and ETA lists, so the rule is one passport and one route per person. Home Affairs says a citizen of two or more countries other than Australia "must use the passport you used when applying for your visa for both entering and leaving Australia", and the airline may refuse to board you on a different one. On the ETA, you must also declare any other passports you hold. The free eVisitor, on whichever passport is to hand, usually works best. Each visa is a separate application, so family members don't all have to use the same visa type.

Northern Ireland families

In Northern Ireland, a family can hold Irish passports, British passports, or both. Eligibility follows the passport the person applies with, not where they live, and both passports qualify for the eVisitor and the ETA. A child with both can apply on either, as long as they travel on that same passport.

Health cover works differently, though. The Irish reciprocal health agreement requires that you "must have been living in Ireland before arriving in Australia". Services Australia lists a separate arrangement for visitors from the United Kingdom, so a family living in Northern Ireland should check that one instead.

Irish–Australian dual citizens

If anyone in the family is an Australian citizen, they don't need a visa. Home Affairs says: "Australian citizens should use their Australian passport to enter and leave Australia." Travelling without one "will be more difficult", and the airline might stop them boarding.

They also can't use the Irish passport to get an eVisitor or ETA. An Australian citizen can't apply for an ETA, even on another country's passport, and Home Affairs says "Australian citizens are ineligible to apply for an eVisitor visa." If a child in the family is an Australian citizen, get them an Australian passport before the trip. See our dual citizenship guide.

New Zealand family members

A partner or child travelling on a New Zealand passport doesn't apply in advance. Home Affairs says New Zealand citizens with a valid passport "do not need to apply for a visa before coming to Australia" and can be granted a Special Category visa (subclass 444) on arrival. ABF adds that New Zealand citizens "with criminal convictions might not be eligible for an SCV". See our Special Category visa guide.

Families with a US or Canadian member

US and Canadian passports aren't on the eVisitor list, so their short-stay option is the ETA. An Irish–American or Irish–Canadian family can either put everyone on the ETA, submitting and paying for all of them together on one device at $20 each, or split: ETA for the US or Canadian member and the free eVisitor for the Irish members. Either works, as long as each person travels on the passport they applied with.

Children: consent forms and travelling with one parent

eVisitor and ETA. Form 1229, the consent form for a child under 18, says it is "not for the use of ... Electronic Travel Authority (ETA) or eVisitor applicants who are under 18 years of age." So an Irish child travelling on an eVisitor or ETA doesn't need it, even if only one parent is going. Home Affairs does say it "might not grant this visa if it is not in the best interests of an applicant under 18."

Subclass 600. It's different for a child applying for a Visitor visa. Anyone with a legal right to decide where the child lives who isn't travelling with them must complete Form 1229 or a statutory declaration giving consent. If the child isn't staying with a relative or legal guardian, Form 1257 (an undertaking declaration) is needed. Home Affairs also asks under-18s to provide a birth certificate showing both parents' names.

An older child who wants to work rather than visit needs the separate Working Holiday visa for Irish citizens, which has its own age limits.

Timing so the slowest visa doesn't sink the trip

1. Apply for any subclass 600 first. It's the only application measured in weeks.
2. Lodge the eVisitors once the 600 is granted. They're typically decided in under a day, and each one's 12 months starts at grant, so there's no benefit in lodging them months early.
3. Book flights only when every family member has a written grant, and check each grant's name, date of birth and passport number against the passport.

Our eVisitor processing-time guide for Irish passports has more on timing.

Worked example: a hypothetical Cork family

Say Aoife holds an Irish passport and lives in Cork with her partner Rafael, who holds a Brazilian passport. Their son Seán is 9 and their daughter Niamh is 8 months old, and both have Irish passports. They want to spend a month with Aoife's brother in Perth.

• Week 1: Rafael applies for the subclass 600 Tourist stream in ImmiAccount, from AUD250, with his employment letter, three months of bank statements and an invitation letter from Aoife's brother. Nobody books anything yet, and Niamh's passport application goes in.
• Weeks 3 to 6: the published Tourist figures are 18 days for half of applications and 38 days for 90%.
• Grant day: once Rafael's grant arrives in writing, three separate eVisitors go in: Aoife's, Seán's and Niamh's. No Form 1229 is needed, because these are eVisitors and both parents are travelling anyway.
• Usually the next day: with all four grants in writing and checked against the passports, they book the flights.
• Arrival: Aoife fills in the passenger cards for the children. Seán may be able to use SmartGate with a parent if he's at least 1.1 m tall and his passport has the ePassport symbol. Niamh is too young.
• Health: under the reciprocal agreement, Aoife and the children would show their Irish passports at a public hospital. Rafael, who isn't an Irish citizen but lives in Ireland, would need to show his passport and a valid European Health Insurance Card with the initials IE, so he should check he has one before they fly. GP visits aren't covered, so they buy travel insurance for all four.

Health cover for a mixed family

The Irish Reciprocal Health Care Agreement is based on residence, not citizenship: people who were living in Ireland before they arrived may be eligible for medically necessary public hospital care and some PBS medicines, and cover "ends the day your visa expires". For a partner on a subclass 600, Home Affairs strongly recommends health insurance, and the visa can sometimes carry condition 8501, which requires adequate health insurance. Travel insurance for everyone is the simplest way to fill the gaps.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does my baby need their own eVisitor for Australia?

Yes. An Irish baby needs a passport of their own first, then a separate eVisitor or ETA linked to it. Home Affairs is clear that family members listed on a parent's passport still apply individually.

Do I need Form 1229 for my child's eVisitor?

No. Form 1229 states it is not for ETA or eVisitor applicants under 18. It applies to children applying for a Visitor visa (subclass 600) when someone with a legal right to decide where they live isn't travelling with them.

My husband has a Brazilian passport. What visa does he need to visit Australia with me?

Brazil isn't on the eVisitor or ETA lists, so he would apply for a Visitor visa (subclass 600), usually in the Tourist stream, from AUD250. Its published processing figures are 18 days (50%) and 38 days (90%), so apply for his visa before anyone else's.

Can I apply for my whole family's eVisitors at once?

There's no single family application. Each person needs their own eVisitor application in ImmiAccount. Lodging them one after another on the same day helps the grants arrive together. For the ETA, applications made on the same device can be submitted and paid for at the same time.

Can my New Zealand partner just fly in with us?

Yes. New Zealand citizens with a valid passport don't need a visa in advance and can be granted a Special Category visa (subclass 444) on arrival, subject to health and character requirements.