How This Visa Works

This visa allows media and film staff to travel to and work in Australia.

For this visa you will need to be sponsored and nominated by one of the following:

• an Australian organisation
• a government agency
• a foreign government agency
• an eligible individual.

Before you lodge your application, the organisation, agency or eligible individual must be approved as an entertainment sponsor or have lodged a sponsorship application. The sponsor will need to nominate you to fill a position by lodging a nomination.

The process for obtaining a Media and Film Staff visa is summarised in the table below.

Who	Responsibility
Australian organisation, government agency, foreign government agency or eligible individual	apply to be an Entertainment Sponsor to engage people from overseas nominate the position to be filled nominate the person to fill the position act as a sponsor for the nominated persons listed in the nomination cooperate with department's monitoring requirements meet costs and other obligations as part of the program.
Nominated primary applicant	accept the offer of employment from the sponsor apply for a visa meet all conditions on their visa.

Validity periods

The validity period of:

• sponsorship is three years
• nomination is 12 months
• visa period is for the period specified in the nomination with a maximum of two years.

Bringing family

The following people may be included in your visa application:

• your partner
• your or your partner's dependent children
• other dependent relatives.

Secondary applicants who have not been listed in the visa application and who want to join you in Australia at a later time will need to lodge a separate visa application. A letter from your sponsor is required to be provided with the application confirming that the sponsor will accept responsibility for the secondary applicants for the period of their stay in Australia.

Other visa options

Programs shown in Australia

If the program may be shown in Australia, you should apply for an Entertainment Visa (subclass 420). This includes, if the program will be shown on cable/satellite TV, as it is likely that it will be viewed in Australia.
See: Entertainment Visa (Subclass 420)

Professional Media

Professional media staff members of overseas news organisations (print, radio, TV or film media) assigned to Australia as accredited representatives of that organisation (for example, as their foreign correspondent) may apply for either:

• a Temporary Business (Short Stay) visa (subclass 456) which allows you to stay in Australia three months or less
• a Temporary Business (Long Stay) visa (subclass 457) which allows you to stay in Australia for up to four years.

See: Business Visit Visa Options

Definitions

These definitions will help you understand the information on these pages.
See: Definitions