Visa-free and Visa on Arrival countries you can travel to as an Australian

It’s no secret that many Australians love to travel. With the borders slowly reopening, the possibility for those Australians looking forward to travelling overseas again is gradually becoming a reality. Let’s check out where Australians can visit visa-free or with a simple visa on or before arrival.

You will also get to know Wise and its Multi-currency account, which allows you to hold over 50 currencies, save, convert and spend overseas with ease.

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The power of your Australian Passport

The Australian Passport is one of the strongest passports in the world, ranking 4th overall on the global passport power rank¹. According to the Passport Index, your Australian passport gives you the power to access 150 countries with ease including 94 visa-free, 51 with a visa on arrival and 5 countries requiring an Electronic Travel Authority (ETA) prior to arrival¹.

To have access to this kind of mobility is due to:

• Visa-free access to the Schengen area countries and the European Union
• Positive diplomatic relations overseas
• Signatory party to several free-trade and bilateral agreements

🚨 A note on Covid-19, border restrictions and travel

As the Covid-19 pandemic crisis is still ongoing, border and travel restrictions are regularly adjusted to match the epidemiological situation. These restrictions typically have minimal implications on visa policy requirements, and specifically focus on vaccination certificates, pre-registration, covid-19 testing before and after arrival, and mandatory quarantine periods. However, some common visa-free destinations have been omitted below due to suspension of visa-free travel due to Covid-19.

Despite this, your own due diligence and research is still required to ensure you are up to date of entry requirements relevant to the country you are travelling to. Information of this kind can easily be found on the Australian Government's Smart Traveller website, which includes general travel advice, destination specific travel info, warnings, visa requirements, covid-19 entry and exit requirements and guidance on other passport services.

Countries and their visa requirements

This article will reveal the complete list of countries, divided by continent, and check out the maximum length of stay allowed in each. With much of the formalities now covered, let’s look at where you can go.

Countries in Oceania

The Oceania region, where Australia is conveniently located, boasts some of the most beautiful island destinations in the world. Below we will list these locations that have visa free access or can be entered with an easy visa on arrival for Australian passport holders.

• Fiji: 120 days
• Kiribati: 120 days
• New Zealand: residency on arrival²
• Samoa: 60 days (visa on arrival)
• Solomon Islands: 90 days (visa on arrival)
• Palau: 30 days (visa on arrival)
• Tonga: 31 days (visa on arrival)
• Tuvalu: 30 days (visa on arrival)
• Vanuatu: 30 days

Countries in Europe you can travel to

Europe is vast, so to say you are going to Europe can mean visiting any one of many countries – and you can very easily. Below we’ll divide the list between Schengen area and non-Schengen area countries and explain the difference.

Schengen Countries free movement area

Australian passport holders can enter the Schengen area visa-free for up to 90 days in a consecutive 180-day period. This means that Australians can enjoy free movement for 90 days between each country that’s part of the Schengen area. You should be aware though, that if you leave the Schengen area in any 180 days period where your day allowance has commenced, it will not reset your 90-day allowance until 180 days has passed from first entry.

To track this or plan your travel, you can utilise this handy calculator tool provided by the European Commission. This is important as there are differing penalties applied for overstays depending on the country you leave from³.

Australia also has bilateral and reciprocal agreements with several European countries in the Schengen area. This allows Australian passport holders to stay for tourism purposes up to 60 or 90 days, regardless of stays in other Schengen countries⁴. This will be reflected below next to the country this applies to, while the rest are Schengen arrangement countries only.

• Austria: 90 days
• Belgium: 60 days
• Czech Republic
• Denmark: 90 days
• Estonia
• Finland: 90 days
• France
• Germany: 90 days
• Greece
• Hungary
• Iceland: 90 days
• Italy: 90 days
• Latvia
• Liechtenstein
• Lithuania
• Luxembourg: 90 days
• Malta,
• Netherlands: 90 days
• Norway: 90 days
• Poland
• Portugal: 90 days
• Slovakia
• Slovenia
• Spain
• Sweden: 90 days
• Switzerland: 90 days (as of 1st January, 2022)⁵

Non-Schengen European countries

Non–Schengen countries are not part of the Schengen agreement but are part of the European Union⁶. Only the countries that have visa-free access for Australian passport holders will be listed. This will include the time that an Australian can remain.

• Albania: 90 days
• Andorra: 90 days
• Belarus: 30 days (Entry via major airports only)
• Bosnia and Herzegovina: 90 days
• Bulgaria: 90 days
• Croatia: 90 days
• Cyprus: 90 days
• Georgia: 12 months (work and tourist)
• Ireland: 90 days
• Kosovo: 90 days
• North Macedonia: 90 days
• Moldova: 90 days
• Montenegro: 90 days
• United Kingdom: 180 days
• Romania: 90 days
• Serbia: 90 days
• Ukraine: 90 days

Countries in North America you can travel to

Unlike travelling to Europe, for the most part, to travel to North America requires a little more pre-departure preparation in the form of acquiring an Electronic Travel Authority (ETA). You must apply for this pre-clearance prior to travelling and ensure you are approved well before you arrive at the airport of your departure destination. Below we’ll list if this type of pre-clearance is needed and how many days you can remain.

• Canada: 180 days (pre-clearance needed via ETA costing $7 CAD)⁷.
• United states of America: 90 days (pre-clearance needed via ESTA costing $14 USD)⁸.
• Mexico: 180 days (visa-free)

Countries in Central and South America you can travel to

Central and South America — otherwise known as Latin America — is a great choice to travel to for Australian passport holders if you are looking for another continent that predominantly allows visa-free access to a large variety of countries. Below is the list of countries that have visa-free access, and if available, an easy visa on arrival option will be noted next to days allowed to remain.

Central American countries

• Antigua and Barbuda: 180 days
• Bahamas : 90 days
• Barbados : 180 days
• Belize : 30 days (visa on arrival)
• Costa Rica : 90 days
• Cuba: 30 days (tourist card on arrival)
• Dominica : 180 days
• Dominican Republic: 30 days (tourist card purchased on arrival)
• El Salvador: 90 days
• Grenada : 90 days
• Guatemala: 90 days
• Haiti: 90 days
• Honduras : 90 days
• Jamaica : 180 days
• Nicaragua : 90 days
• Panama : 180 days
• Saint Lucia : 42 days
• Saint Kitts and Nevis : 90 days
• Saint Vincent and the Grenadine : 30 days
• Trinidad and Tobago : visa on arrival (must pay a visa waiver fee in US dollars)⁹

South American countries

• Argentina: 90 days
• Bolivia: 90 days
• Brazil: 90 days
• Colombia: 90 days
• Ecuador: 90 days
• Guyana: 90 days
• Paraguay: 90 days
• Peru: 180 days
• Uruguay: 90 days
• Venezuela: 90 days

Countries in Asia and the Middle East you can travel to

Asia is Australia’s closest continental neighbour. Thanks to this and several bilateral agreements, there are a number of Asian countries that allow visa-free or visa on arrival travel for Australian passport holders. Likewise, this extends to a few countries in Central Asia and the Middle East.

Below we’ll list whether access to Australians are visa-free, visa on arrival or require the attainment of a simple e-visa. Time allowed to remain will also be listed.

• Armenia: 180 days (visa free)
• Bahrain: 30 days (visa on arrival)
• Hong Kong: 90 days (visa-free)
• India: 90 days (e-visa)¹⁰
• Iran: 30 days (e-visa)
• Iraq: 60 days (visa on arrival)
• Jordan: 30 days (visa on arrival)¹¹
• Kyrgyzstan: 60 days (visa-free)
• Lebanon: 30 days (visa on arrival)
• Maldives: 30 days (visa on arrival)
• Nepal: 90 days (visa on arrival)
• Oman: 10 days (visa on arrival)
• Palentinian territories: (visa-free)
• Qatar: 30 days (visa-free)
• Singapore: 90 days (visa-free)
• United Arab Emirates: 30 days (visa on arrival)
• Thailand: 30 days (visa-free)
• Timor-Leste (East Timor): 30 days (visa on arrival)
• Uzbekistan: 30 days (visa-free)

Countries in Africa you can travel to

Looking to explore the second largest continent on the planet? Well for Australian passport holders, it is easy to travel to a large number of countries within the African continent visa-free or with a simple visa on arrival. Below we’ll list these, including how long you can remain in each country.

• Botswana: 90 days (visa-free)
• Burkina Faso: 30 days (visa on arrival)
• Comoros: 45 days (visa on arrival)
• Djibouti: 31 days (E-visa)
• Egypt: 30 days (visa on arrival)
• Eswatini : 30 days (visa-free)
• Ethiopia: 30 or 90 days (E-visa)¹²
• Gabon : 90 days (visa on arrival)
• Gambia: 90 days (visa-free)
• Guinea: 90 days (E-visa)
• Guinea-Bissau: 90 days (visa on arrival)
• Kenya: 90 days (E-visa)
• Lesotho: 30 days (visa on arrival)
• Madagascar: 90 days (visa on arrival)
• Mozambique: 90 days (visa on arrival)
• Malawi: 30 days (visa on arrival)
• Mauritania: 30 days (visa on arrival)
• Mauritius: 90 days (visa-free)
• Morocco: 90 days (visa-free)
• Namibia: 90 days (visa-free)
• Rwanda: 30 days (visa on arrival)
• Senegal: 30 days (visa on arrival)
• Seychelles: 90 days (tourist registration on arrival)
• Sierra Leone: 30 days (visa on arrival)
• Somalia: 30 days (visa on arrival)
• South Africa : 90 days (visa-free)
• Tunisia: 90 days (visa on arrival)

Important points to note before you travel

There are a few important points to reiterate to you before you embark, so your trip can go as smoothly as possible. Any travelling requires some due diligence from you, but it's important to know:

1. Passport Validity: Rule of thumb is having 6 months left on your passport (this can change depending on your destination country)¹³. It's advisable to renew your passport if it's about to expire soon.
2. Vaccines: Some viruses/diseases are still widespread in some travel destinations. It is a requirement for some destinations to have certain vaccines or pre-emptive medication to protect your own health while travelling and upon return to Australia.
3. Safety: To check the level of safety for your chosen destination, please check the Smart Traveller website for updates.
4. Cultural awareness and local laws: The world is a vibrant place, with many cultural differences and customs that should be respected in all destinations. It is always recommended that you are aware of some of these differences before you travel.

Wrapping up.

As you can tell, having an Australian passport is very convenient for international travel. With so many visa-free travel destinations available to visit, the next hurdle is figuring out how to get the best deal for your buck when converting and spending your cash overseas.

That is why Wise created a multi-currency account to make it easier to convert your money into over 50 currencies worldwide and allows you to avoid hefty bank fees. By opening an account you can opt in for the Wise debit Mastercard that allows you access to the real exchange rate.

You will also be able to make payments and withdrawals around the world cheaply and worry-free.

Safe travels.

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Sources:

1. Australia passport and travel destinations — Passport index
2. New Zealand visa — Australian passport holders
3. Smart Traveller — Schengen information
4. European Union policy — Countries with bilateral agreements for extension beyond Schengen arrangements.
5. Switzerland Embassy — New visa policy for Australian Citizens
6. Smart Traveller — Non-Schengen countries
7. Canadian eTA — application site
8. USA ESTA — application site
9. Smart Traveller — Trinidad and Tobago visa
10. India — Indian E-visa for tourist
11. Smart Traveller — Jordan visa on arrival
12. Ethiopia — E-visa application
13. Department of Foriegn Affairs (DFAT) — Passport validity

Sources checked on: 28 December 2021