# Australia Visa Status Check for Indian Applicants > There is no VFS tracking for Australian visas in India. How to follow your application in ImmiAccount, when a delay is normal, and how to confirm a digital grant. _Published: 2026-11-04 · Reading time: 5 min · Words: 1067_ ## TL;DR Australian visitor and student visas are lodged and decided online, so Indian applicants follow progress in the ImmiAccount they applied through rather than at a VFS centre. Compare your wait with the Home Affairs processing-time figures, answer any request quickly, and check the grant letter and VEVO once the visa is granted. ## Key takeaways - Visitor visa (subclass 600) applications are lodged online through ImmiAccount; online lodgement has been mandatory since 30 September 2021. - India is not on the Australian Biometrics Collection Centre list (March 2026), so there is no VFS passport tracking. - Indian tourist visitor visas granted October–December 2025 had a median processing time of 14 days, 75% within 23 days. - An application is not processed until the fee is paid. - The grant letter shows your stay and entries; entries can also be checked in VEVO, and visa enquiries go to +61 2 6196 0196. **Indians track an Australian visa application in the ImmiAccount they used to lodge it, because the Department of Home Affairs takes visitor and student applications online and India has no Australian biometrics collection centre. A granted visa has no label: it is digitally linked to your passport, the grant letter shows your stay, and VEVO shows your entries.** ## Article The details below come from Department of Home Affairs pages and reports, as published on the official sources, checked on 2026-10-15. For fees, documents and visa types, start with our Australia visa overview for Indians. ### Why is there no VFS tracking number for Australia? Many Indian applicants are used to tracking a passport through a VFS Global centre. Australia works differently. Indians apply for the Visitor visa (subclass 600) online through ImmiAccount, and online lodgement has been mandatory since 30 September 2021. You attach scanned documents and pay online. VFS Global runs Australian Biometrics Collection Centres only in listed countries, and India is not on that list (correct as of March 2026). The Australian High Commission lists visa application centres only for Bangladesh, Bhutan and Nepal. Because the visa is granted electronically and no passport is handed in, there is no courier waybill or VFS reference to follow. Your ImmiAccount is the record of your application. ### How do you check progress in ImmiAccount? - Log in to the same ImmiAccount you used to lodge the application. A new account will not show it. - Confirm the fee shows as paid. Home Affairs does not process an application until the fee is paid. - Look for any request from the Department, such as health checks, a police certificate or biometrics, and note the deadline. For Student visas, biometrics must be given within 14 days of the request. - If you nominated an authorised recipient or migration agent with Form 956A or Form 956, check with them too, since correspondence can go to that person. - Once the decision is made, download the grant letter and keep it with your travel documents. Upload any requested document in colour, with multi-page documents as one file, and translate anything not in English with the translator's details, as the Home Affairs document rules require. ### How long is a normal wait before you chase it? Home Affairs publishes two kinds of figures. The global processing-time guide covers all nationalities and recently decided applications. The program reports give India-specific figures for past quarters. VisaGlobal guide (all nationalities)Indian citizens, Oct–Dec 2025Visitor (600) Tourist stream50% in 21 days, 90% in 33 daysMedian 14 days; 75% within 23 daysVisitor (600) Business Visitor stream50% in 7 days, 90% in 19 daysNot publishedVisitor (600) Sponsored Family stream50% in 40 days, 90% in 3 monthsNot publishedStudent (500) Higher Education50% in 16 days, 90% in 4 monthsMedian 23 days; 75% within 36 days (offshore primary applications)Student (500) Vocational Education and Training50% in 53 days, 90% in 7 monthsNot published separatelyThe India columns come from two Home Affairs reports dated 31 December 2025: the Visitor visa program report and the Student and temporary graduate visa program report. They measure how long granted applications took, so they tell you what a typical successful Indian application looked like in that quarter, not how long yours will take. The global guide is broader but more current, because it reflects recently decided applications from every nationality. A file that is still open after the 50% mark is not a problem in itself. The 90% figure is a more useful line for deciding when to follow up. Global figures were checked on 15 October 2026 and change as Home Affairs updates them. ### What does a granted Australian visa look like? There is no sticker in your passport. The visa is digitally linked to the passport you applied with. The grant letter shows the stay period or dates and whether the visa is single or multiple entry, and the entries can also be checked in VEVO. Read the conditions on the grant letter. Some visitor visas carry condition 8503 (No Further Stay), which blocks applying for a new visa in Australia unless it is waived. In some cases a visa is granted with condition 8501, which means you must maintain adequate health insurance. Visitor visas cannot be extended; you would need a new visa. ### Whom can you contact about a delayed application? - Home Affairs helpline: visa and citizenship enquiries go to +61 2 6196 0196. - Australian High Commission, New Delhi: the Department of Home Affairs office there manages many visa and citizenship services for citizens of India, Nepal, Bangladesh and Bhutan. - Your authorised recipient or agent: if you lodged Form 956A or Form 956, they can receive correspondence for you. Have your application details ready before you call, and check that the delay is beyond the published processing range first. ### Status-check mistakes to avoid - Paying a website to "track" your visa. The status sits in your own ImmiAccount; no third-party tracking is needed. - Ignoring a request. An unanswered request for health checks, police certificates or biometrics stalls the file. - Buying non-refundable tickets before the grant. Use a verifiable flight reservation for your itinerary until the decision arrives; our flight reservation service covers this. - Flying in the wrong window. Check the stay dates and entry type on the grant letter before booking. - Being in Australia at the wrong time. For the Tourist stream applied for outside Australia, you must be outside Australia when you apply and when the visa is decided. Yatra For Fun's India office in Gurugram prepares flight reservations, hotel bookings, travel itineraries and cover letters for visa files, with packages from INR 1,000 (flight reservation) to INR 3,000 (reservation, hotel, itinerary and cover letter). WhatsApp +91 95230 91018 or write to us. ### Frequently asked questions #### Do I need to send my passport anywhere for an Australian visa? No. The Visitor visa is granted electronically and digitally linked to your passport, with no label. India is also not on the Australian Biometrics Collection Centre list as of March 2026. #### Will Home Affairs start processing before I pay? No. Home Affairs does not process the application until the application fee is paid online. The Visitor visa (subclass 600) Tourist stream costs AUD 250 when applied for outside Australia from 1 July 2026. #### Can my family members share one visa application? Not for the Visitor visa. Each person, including children, applies and pays separately, so each family member has an application to track. #### Can I extend my Australian visitor visa if it is approved late? No. Visitor visas cannot be extended; you must apply for a new visa. That is not possible if condition 8503 (No Further Stay) is attached, unless it is waived. ## Steps 1. **Log in to your ImmiAccount** — Use the same ImmiAccount you lodged the application with; the application is not visible from a different account. 2. **Confirm the fee is paid** — Home Affairs does not process an application until the fee is paid, so check the payment shows as complete. 3. **Respond to any request** — If the Department asks for health checks, a police certificate or biometrics, act before the deadline; Student visa biometrics are due within 14 days of the request. 4. **Compare your wait with official figures** — Check the Home Affairs global processing-time guide and India figures, such as a 14-day median for Indian tourist visitor visas granted October–December 2025. 5. **Contact Home Affairs if overdue** — If the wait is beyond the published range, call the visa and citizenship helpline on +61 2 6196 0196. 6. **Check the grant letter and VEVO** — Download the grant letter, confirm stay dates, entry type and conditions, and check entries in VEVO before you travel. ## FAQ ### Do I need to send my passport anywhere for an Australian visa? No. The Visitor visa is granted electronically and digitally linked to your passport, with no label. India is also not on the Australian Biometrics Collection Centre list as of March 2026. ### Will Home Affairs start processing before I pay? No. Home Affairs does not process the application until the application fee is paid online. The Visitor visa (subclass 600) Tourist stream costs AUD 250 when applied for outside Australia from 1 July 2026. ### Can my family members share one visa application? Not for the Visitor visa. Each person, including children, applies and pays separately, so each family member has an application to track. ### Can I extend my Australian visitor visa if it is approved late? No. Visitor visas cannot be extended; you must apply for a new visa. That is not possible if condition 8503 (No Further Stay) is attached, unless it is waived. ## Sources 1. [Department of Home Affairs - Visitor visa (subclass 600)](https://immi.homeaffairs.gov.au/visas/getting-a-visa/visa-listing/visitor-600) — Australian Government Department of Home Affairs 2. [Department of Home Affairs - Global visa processing times guide](https://immi.homeaffairs.gov.au/visas/getting-a-visa/visa-processing-times/global-visa-processing-times) — Australian Government Department of Home Affairs 3. [Department of Home Affairs - Visitor visa program report, 31 December 2025](https://www.homeaffairs.gov.au/research-and-stats/files/visitor-visa-december-2025.pdf) — Australian Government Department of Home Affairs