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Special Purpose visa

AustraliaSpecial cases

Explore the five recorded questions, answers and sources for this pathway.

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Explore pathways in Australia Read the five questions ↓

What exactly is the official special programme/status and why does it exist?

The Special Purpose visa is an automatic temporary visa — there is no application — granted to people who hold a 'prescribed status' (such as certain foreign military personnel, foreign armed forces ship crew, or airline crew), letting them enter and stay in Australia while that status lasts.

See recorded sources
  • Overview tab
    This is a temporary visa that lets you enter and stay in Australia while you hold your prescribed status. You do not apply for this visa. It is granted automatically to people who have a 'prescribed status'.

Which specific population, role, circumstance or historical/legal situation does it cover?

It covers people with a 'prescribed status': airline crew members, airline positioning crew members or aircraft safety inspectors; a person on board a ship of a foreign country's regular armed forces when it enters Australia; a member of the armed forces of a Status of Forces Agreement country or a specified Asia-Pacific or Commonwealth country travelling or serving in Australia; and the accompanying spouse, de facto partner or dependent relative of an eligible armed forces member listed on that member's military travel orders.

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What circumstance, event, relationship, nomination, invitation or status activates access?

There is no application to trigger: the visa is granted automatically the moment a person holding a qualifying prescribed status enters Australia — a member of an armed forces of Canada, Singapore, the UK or the US may additionally be eligible to register for the related Special Purpose Travel Authority (subclass 945) to obtain a visa grant number.

See recorded sources
  • Overview tab
    You do not apply for this visa. It is granted automatically to people who have a 'prescribed status'.
  • Eligibility tab — A member of certain foreign armed forces
    Members of the armed forces of Canada, Singapore, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, and the United States of America may be eligible to be registered for the Special Purpose Travel Authority (subclass 945) (SPTA).

What sponsor, authority, nomination, certification, evidence or other step must occur before the status can be obtained?

The only prior condition is holding the qualifying prescribed status itself (being an airline or positioning crew member or aircraft safety inspector, a foreign armed forces ship's crew member on board at entry, a qualifying armed forces member, or a listed accompanying family member on military travel orders); there is no separate lodgement step. Eligible military personnel from Canada, Singapore, the UK or the US may register for the SPTA (subclass 945) to obtain a visa grant number usable in VEVO, and personnel are advised to contact their High Commission, Embassy or Defence representative.

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What immigration status and rights result, how long do they last, can family be included, and what happens if the special qualifying circumstance ends?

The result is a free, automatic temporary stay in Australia for as long as the prescribed status is held (unless cancelled for another reason), with the right to undertake regular work as part of military duties, or to work as airline crew subject to the Crew Travel Authority conditions.

See recorded sources

These are the answers currently recorded in the catalogue. A missing or partial answer is not an eligibility decision.

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