The short version
- To live in Australia, Americans need a visa that allows it. A US passport alone gets you an ETA, which covers visits of up to 3 months at a time, with no work.
- If you are 18 to 30, the Work and Holiday visa (subclass 462) lets you live and work there for 12 months. It costs AUD 840, and there is no yearly cap for US passports.
- The other routes are a Student visa, a skilled work visa or a Partner visa. Each has its own rules.
- Australia's retirement and investor visas are closed to new applicants.
Can Americans move to Australia?
Yes, with a visa that lets you live there. Which one fits depends on your age, your plans for work or study, and whether you have an Australian partner.
These are the main routes on the Home Affairs visa list:
| Visa | Who it is for | Stay |
|---|---|---|
| Work and Holiday (subclass 462) | Ages 18 to 30, with a US passport | 12 months |
| Student (subclass 500) | Enrolled in a course in Australia | Up to 6 years |
| Skills in Demand (subclass 482) | Workers sponsored by an employer | Temporary |
| Employer Nomination Scheme (subclass 186) | Workers nominated by an employer | Permanent |
| Skilled Independent (subclass 189) | Invited workers with skills Australia needs | Permanent |
A Partner visa is a separate route if your partner is Australian. The retirement and investor routes are closed. Both are covered further down.
Can Americans visit Australia before they move?
Yes. US passport holders can get an Electronic Travel Authority (ETA, subclass 601). It lets you visit as often as you like in a 12-month period and stay up to 3 months each time you enter.
- How to apply: from outside Australia, in the Australian ETA app.
- Cost: the app charges a service fee of AUD 20. Home Affairs says there is no other charge for the ETA.
- Speed: in most cases, Home Affairs gives the result straight away.
The ETA is not a work visa. You cannot do paid work for an Australian employer on it. Home Affairs also says it may ask about your reasons for travel if you stay for long periods or visit often. To stay longer than 3 months at a time, you need a different visa.
One simple setup is a short visit on an ETA first, to see a city or two before you choose a route.
What is the Work and Holiday visa for Americans?
It is a 12-month visa for people aged 18 to 30 who want a long holiday in Australia and to work to help pay for it. Its official name is the Work and Holiday visa (subclass 462), and the US is on its list of eligible passports.
Home Affairs sets these rules for a first 462 on a US passport:
| Rule | For US passports |
|---|---|
| Age | 18 to 30 when you apply |
| Education | A Senior Secondary Certificate of Education or equivalent |
| English | Your US passport covers it |
| Letter from your government | Not needed |
| Money | Usually about AUD 5,000, plus your onward fare |
| Yearly cap on visas | None for the US |
| Fee | AUD 840 |
The age rule is strict. You must apply before you turn 31, by midnight Australian Eastern time the day before your 31st birthday. You apply online, from outside Australia, and you must still be outside when Home Affairs decides. You apply on your own: you cannot include family, and dependent children cannot come with you.
Home Affairs expects the average wait to be around three months. It says not to book flights until the visa is granted. Ages, costs and stays for every eligible passport are on our Australia working holiday visa page.
What can you do on a Work and Holiday visa?
You can live in Australia for 12 months, work and travel. Home Affairs lists what the 462 allows:
- Work: any kind of work, usually for up to 6 months with the same employer.
- Study: up to 4 months.
- Travel: leave and come back as often as you like in your 12 months.
You must enter Australia within 12 months of the grant. The 12 months of stay start the day you first enter, and time spent abroad does not add to them. If you also hold an ETA, the 462 clock still starts on that first entry, even if the trip is a holiday.
You pay Australian tax on work you do there. Your employer must also pay into a retirement fund, called superannuation, once you earn more than a set amount. You can access that money when you leave Australia. Home Affairs strongly recommends health insurance, since you pay your own medical costs.
Can you stay longer on a Work and Holiday visa?
Yes, by qualifying for a second and then a third 462 visa. You cannot extend the first one.
- Second 462: complete 3 months of specified work on your first visa.
- Third 462: complete 6 months of specified work on your second visa.
You must still be 18 to 30 when you apply each time. A second or third 462 costs AUD 1,000.
Specified work means work in an approved industry and area of Australia. Home Affairs keeps the list. It includes tourism and hospitality in Northern or Remote and Very Remote Australia, and plant and animal cultivation or construction in Northern Australia and other set regional areas. The work must be paid in line with Australian law and awards.
Can Americans study in Australia?
Yes, on a Student visa (subclass 500). You need to be enrolled in a course in Australia and hold a valid Confirmation of Enrolment (CoE) from your school.
- Stay: up to 6 years, in line with your enrolment.
- Work: up to 48 hours a fortnight while your course is in session.
- Health cover: Overseas Student Health Cover (OSHC), unless you are exempt.
- Money: at a minimum, your travel, 12 months of course fees and 12 months of living costs. Home Affairs puts a student's living costs at AUD 29,710 a year. You can instead show a parent's or partner's income of at least AUD 87,856 in the 12 months before you apply.
- Fee: AUD 2,500 for most applicants, less for some English language and non-award courses.
Two rules changed on 2 October 2026. Most applicants can no longer include family members. And most Student visa holders can no longer apply for another Student visa from inside Australia. See the full figures on our Australia student visa page.
Can Americans get a skilled work visa in Australia?
Yes, if they qualify. Each of these five needs an employer's sponsorship, a nomination or an invitation. Home Affairs describes them like this:
- Skills in Demand (subclass 482): a temporary visa that lets an employer sponsor a skilled worker for a job it cannot fill with a suitably skilled Australian.
- Employer Nomination Scheme (subclass 186): lets skilled workers nominated by their employer live and work in Australia permanently.
- Skilled Independent (subclass 189): for invited workers with skills Australia needs, to live and work permanently anywhere in the country.
- Skilled Nominated (subclass 190): lets nominated skilled workers live and work in Australia as permanent residents.
- Skilled Work Regional (Provisional) (subclass 491): for skilled people nominated by a state or territory government to live and work in regional Australia.
Each one has its own rules, and our data does not cover them. Read them on the Home Affairs visa list, which has a page for each.
Can you move to Australia with an Australian partner?
Yes. Partner visas let the partner or spouse of an Australian citizen, an Australian permanent resident or an eligible New Zealand citizen live in Australia.
There are two versions. You apply for one from overseas (subclass 309 and 100) and for the other from inside Australia (subclass 820 and 801). Both are on the Home Affairs visa list. Our data does not cover their rules or their cost, so read those pages before you plan around one.
Can Americans retire or invest their way to Australia?
Not as new applicants. Australia has closed both routes.
- Investor Retirement visa (subclass 405): closed to new applicants on 1 June 2018. The older Retirement visa (subclass 410) is closed too. People who already hold one can keep applying for a new one. See our Australia retirement visa page.
- Business Innovation and Investment Program: closed permanently to new applications on 31 July 2024. That includes the subclass 188 visa. Applications made before that date are still being processed. See our Australia golden visa page.
How much do Australian visas cost for Americans?
It depends on the visa: AUD 20 for an ETA, AUD 840 for a first Work and Holiday visa and AUD 2,500 for most Student visas. These are the charges for the routes above, checked on 12 October 2026:
| Visa | Cost |
|---|---|
| ETA (subclass 601) | AUD 20 app service charge |
| First Work and Holiday (subclass 462) | AUD 840 |
| Second or third 462 | AUD 1,000 |
| Student (subclass 500) | AUD 2,500 for most |
| Skilled and partner visas | Not covered here |
On top of the visa charge, you might also pay for health checks, police certificates and biometrics. Home Affairs has a Visa Pricing Estimator for your own case.
Which other countries offer working holidays to Americans?
Six in our data: Australia, Austria, Ireland, New Zealand, Portugal and South Korea. Ireland and South Korea are only for students and recent graduates. Austria is only for people who graduated in the last 12 months.
Australia sets no yearly cap for US passports. Compare ages, stays and costs side by side on working holiday visas for Americans.