Australia expands 10-year visa to ASEAN and Timor-Leste

Thursday, March 7, 2024

On Tuesday, at the ASEAN-Australia Special Summit held in Melbourne, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese made a significant announcement regarding the extension of the 10-year frequent traveler visa scheme to include eligible ASEAN countries as well as Timor-Leste. This development was shared in a statement on the official website of the Australian Prime Minister, as he welcomed the leaders from Laos, Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam, and Timor-Leste to the summit.

Furthermore, the Prime Minister revealed that the duration of the business visitor visa would be increased from the current three years to five years, facilitating longer business engagements. The frequent traveler visa scheme, known for allowing visitors to remain in Australia for up to three months per visit, is set to bolster travel and business exchanges between Australia and these nations.

This move comes in the wake of Australia’s efforts to diversify its tourism strategy, which previously included extending the 10-year visa scheme to Chinese tourists in a bid to capitalize on the significant travel potential from the world’s second-largest population. Despite these efforts, tourism industry insiders have pointed out that Australia has been missing out on a considerable number of Chinese tourists, who prefer Southeast Asian destinations like Thailand and Malaysia, largely due to their visa-free policies.

Before the disruptions caused by the global pandemic, nations such as Singapore, Malaysia, and Indonesia ranked among the top sources of inbound tourism to Australia. In 2019, the region witnessed a peak in Southeast Asian visitor arrivals, with 1.5 million tourists contributing an estimated A$4.2 billion (approximately US$2.7 billion) to the Australian economy, as per data from Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade.

The recent policy extension by Prime Minister Albanese is expected to rejuvenate Australia’s tourism sector by attracting a larger number of visitors from Southeast Asia and Timor-Leste, enhancing economic contributions and strengthening regional relationships.

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