Visitor visas for Asian markets: A comparison between Australia and key competitors

Visa costs and processes can have a major impact on the number of visitors to a country. On the one hand, visas are an instrument that all governments, and the Australian Government in this case, use to control who can enter their country for various reasons, more so to ensure security where undesirable foreign
nationals are screened and prevented from entering. On the other hand, visas are also perceived as a revenue raising device for many destinations where the politically safer option of “tax exporting” is preferred. Thus, it is imperative to strike a balance between these purposes, as the visa fees and the
processes play a significant role in determining a country’s competitiveness in the global tourism market.
It is on these bases that this report examines Australia’s visa schemes for six important Asian source markets – China, India, Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam and Taiwan – in comparison with our key competing destinations, namely New Zealand, the UK, the US, Canada and the Schengen countries.