Visiting Academic Eligibility
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You must meet all of the following requirements to be eligible for this visa.
Letter of invitation
You will need to provide a letter of invitation from the Australian tertiary institution or research organisation. The letter of invitation should indicate:
- the period for which the invitation is extended
- details of the applicant's proposed activities in Australia
- the nature and amount of any proposed payments by the institution to the applicant.
Note: An invitation by an Australian academic/research organisation to participate in research in Australia is not adequate evidence by itself to support that you are an academic for the purposes of this visa. Academics must already hold a PhD qualification, be able to demonstrate a record of employment as a professional academic and continue to be employed by their home institution while undertaking research in Australia.
The structure of academic institutions varies widely. However, the invitation should come from the person with overall administrative authority within the institution. For example from the Registrar, Chief Executive Officer or equivalent central administrative authority of the relevant institution.
Statement from home institution
You will also need to provide a statement from your home institution which confirms the invitation to visit an Australian institution and that your leave from your usual academic appointment will be granted.
Health insurance
Private Health Insurance is available to you and your family and is strongly recommended, but it is not a requirement for the grant of this visa.
See also: Private health insurance - for consumers
Country to Country agreements
If you wish to enter Australia under an agreement between Australia and another country:
- the department must be satisfied that your application meets the requirements of the agreement
- You have produced evidence that your stay in Australia under the agreement has been agreed to by the relevant authorities in Australia and the other country.
Health
You and your family must meet certain health requirements and may need to undergo a health examination.
See: Health Requirements
Character
You must be of good character to enter Australia.
See: Character Requirements
Australian Values Statement
If you are aged 18 years or over, you must declare that you will respect Australian values and obey the laws of Australia. For this visa, the values statement is included in the general declaration section of the application form. When you sign the application form it means you will also be signing the values statement. You will not be required to have read the Life in Australia book, but may do so if you wish.
You are also encouraged to gain an understanding of Australia, its people and their way of life, before applying for this visa.
See: Australian Values - Overview
Before lodging an application, please read all related eligibility requirements.
See: Other eligibility