Australia 601 ETA 2026: passport linkage, expiry and re-application evidence

An Electronic Travel Authority (subclass 601) is not a sticker you can move between documents. According to the Australian Department of Home Affairs Electronic Travel Authority (subclass 601) page, your visa is digitally linked to the passport you used to apply, you must enter Australia on that same passport, and if that passport expires or you get a new one, your ETA ceases and you must apply for a new ETA. Re-applying runs through the Australian ETA app, which carries a AUD 20 application service fee; there is no Visa Application Charge for this visa.

Why is there no visa label in my passport?

Home Affairs states plainly that it will digitally link your visa to your passport and that you will not get a label. The authority exists as a record keyed to one passport number, not as evidence you hold in your hand.

That design explains most of the problems travellers run into. Because nothing physical connects the visa to a later passport, there is no "transfer" step and no way to carry the old grant forward by presenting two documents together. The passport is the identifier; when the identifier is replaced, the grant tied to it falls away.

Which passport do I have to travel on?

You must enter Australia using the passport you applied with. Home Affairs repeats this requirement in more than one place on the subclass 601 page: under travel-document checks before departure, and again in the section on telling the department about a change in your situation.

In practice the check happens twice before you reach the gate — once when your airline verifies travel documents, and once at the Australian border, including automated SmartGate processing that reads the chip in your ePassport. Both are matched against the record, so the passport chip is what must align with the ETA.

What happens to my ETA in each passport situation?

Passport situation	Status of the ETA	What follows
Same passport, still valid	Active	Travel on that passport; check details in VEVO before departure
Passport expiry date approaching	Active until whichever comes first: 12 months from grant, or passport validity	See below on how validity is calculated
Passport expires	ETA ceases	New ETA application required
New passport issued (renewal or replacement)	ETA ceases	New ETA application required
More than one eligible passport held	Applies to the passport declared and used in the application	Declare other passports in the ETA application

The rule is not about whether the old passport was cancelled or how many unused pages were left. The page says the ETA is attached to your current passport, and that expiry of that passport or issue of a new one is enough to end it.

How does my passport's expiry shorten the ETA's validity?

The subclass 601 is valid for travel for either 12 months or the period your passport is valid, whichever is shorter. The 12-month period starts on the date the visa is granted, unless you already hold another substantive visa in effect. Each entry permits a stay of up to 3 months, and the visa is granted with multiple entry, so you can come and go while it remains valid.

So an ETA granted to someone whose passport runs out in five months does not give 12 months of travel. The two clocks run together and the passport's own expiry caps the visa. That is why travellers often discover a "still valid" ETA has effectively no remaining travel window once the replacement passport is issued.

What if I also hold another substantive visa?

If you hold any other substantive visa alongside an ETA when you arrive, you enter Australia on that other visa, not on the ETA; the ETA comes into effect when the other visa ceases. The exception is a Maritime Crew visa or Special Purpose visa: with an ETA you enter on both visas and may stay for the longer of the two stay periods, and if that longer period exceeds 3 months the ETA ceases while you remain for the other visa's stay period. Importantly, the 3-month ETA stay period still begins on the day you enter, so check that your other substantive visa is valid for more than 3 months if you intend to stay longer than the ETA's stay period allows.

How do I check what the record actually says?

You can check the details and status of your ETA in VEVO, including the conditions attached to the grant and the date you must leave. The Australian ETA app also has a "Visa check" function for checking the status of an application.

Check it against the passport you intend to board with. Because the record and the passport must correspond, a VEVO check run against one travel document does not tell you what the border will see when you present a different one.

What does re-applying after a new passport involve?

A new passport means a new application, made while you are outside Australia and granted while you are still outside Australia. The other conditions that apply to any application still apply:

Eligible passport. The published list covers Andorra, Austria, Belgium, Brunei, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hong Kong (SAR of China), Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Malaysia, Malta, Monaco, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, the Republic of San Marino, Singapore, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan (excluding official or diplomatic passports), the United Kingdom — British Citizen and British National (Overseas), the United States of America, and Vatican City. You cannot apply with a non-citizen passport, certificate of identity or other travel document such as a Titre de Voyage.
Multiple passports. If you hold more than one passport, you must declare this in the application and provide details of the other passports.
Australian citizens. Dual nationals who are also Australian citizens cannot apply for an ETA; Australian citizens have an automatic right of entry.
Health and character. You must meet the health requirement and the character requirement. If you have a criminal conviction in any country, Home Affairs directs you to a Visitor (subclass 600) visa with evidence about the convictions.
Each person separately. You cannot include family members, including children listed on your passport; each person submits their own application.
Fee. There is no visa application charge, but the Australian ETA app carries a AUD 20 application service fee.

How quickly will I know the result?

In most cases you are notified of the result immediately. The page warns that processing may take longer if the questions in the app are not answered correctly, more information is needed, or your information is hard to verify — and advises not making travel arrangements until the ETA is granted. Because this is a time-sensitive question for people who already hold flights, that timing guidance matters more than any assumption about "instant" decisions.

This is general information about how the published rules work, not an assessment of an individual traveller's situation; where your own circumstances differ, rely on the current official page and on a registered migration adviser or lawyer for advice specific to you.

Frequently Asked Questions

If I carry my expired passport with the ETA record plus my new passport, can I still board?

No. Home Affairs says the ETA ceases when that passport expires or a new one is issued, so the expired passport carries no usable visa. You would need to apply for a new ETA against the new passport.

Do I have to pay the AUD 20 service fee again?

The AUD 20 is described as an application service fee for using the Australian ETA app, and a re-application is a new application through that app. There is no visa application charge on this visa either way.

Can the ETA simply be transferred to my new passport number?

The pages do not provide a transfer mechanism. The stated consequence of a new passport is that the ETA ceases and you must apply for a new one, which points to a fresh application rather than an amendment.

My replacement passport is from a different country than my old one — does that matter?

Yes, because eligibility depends on the passport itself. The new document must be from a listed eligible country or jurisdiction; a non-citizen passport, certificate of identity or Titre de Voyage cannot be used.

What if I am already in Australia when my passport is replaced at a consulate?

A new passport ends the ETA wherever you are, so once the replacement is issued you no longer hold a valid ETA; because an ETA must be applied for and granted while you are outside Australia, you must leave and obtain a new ETA (or hold another visa) before you next travel to Australia. Note also that an ETA cannot be extended, and remaining in Australia after it ceases without another visa makes you an unlawful non-citizen, so the replacement step needs to be handled before you next travel.

My ETA says 12 months but my passport expires sooner. Which one governs?

Whatever is shorter governs: the visa is valid for 12 months or the period your passport is valid, whichever is the shorter period. The practical end date is your passport's expiry.