Australia Lists 70 Countries Whose Citizens Can Transit Without a Visa in 2026
- Australia's Department of Home Affairs published its Transit Without Visa policy, listing 70 eligible nationalities for 2026
- Travellers must meet strict conditions, including an outbound flight within eight hours and no need to clear immigration
- South Africa is the only African country on the list, while several diplomatic passport holders face exclusions
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Australia has published a full list of countries whose citizens may pass through its airports without obtaining a visa, under a policy known as Transit Without Visa (TWOV).
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The guidance, last updated by the Department of Home Affairs on 23 September 2024, remains applicable in 2026.
The policy permits eligible travellers to connect through an Australian airport on their way to a third destination, without going through the formal visa application process.
Who qualifies for Australia's transit without visa policy
Eligibility is tied to a specific set of conditions. A traveller must arrive by aircraft and hold a confirmed onward ticket departing to a third country, also by air, within eight hours of landing.
They must carry a valid travel document accepted by their destination country and must remain within the airport transit lounge at all times, without clearing immigration or collecting checked baggage.
The Home Affairs guidance explicitly states that travellers who need to retrieve luggage or move between terminals in a way that requires passing through immigration will not qualify, even if their nationality appears on the approved list.
Australia free transit: List of 70 eligible countries
The 70 nationalities approved for TWOV include Andorra, Argentina, Austria, Belgium, Brunei, Bulgaria, Canada, Chile, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Federated States of Micronesia, Fiji, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Indonesia, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Kiribati, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malaysia, Malta, Marshall Islands, Mexico, Monaco, Nauru, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Oman, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Qatar, Romania, Samoa, San Marino, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, Solomon Islands, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Thailand, Tonga, Tuvalu, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom (including its colonies), United States of America, Uruguay, Vanuatu, and Vatican City.
South Africa is the sole African nation on the list.
Beyond the main 70, residents of Hong Kong holding a Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) passport or a British National Overseas (BNO) passport are also eligible. Taiwan residents carrying a passport issued by the Taiwanese authorities, and Indian official passport holders travelling on government-issued documents, may likewise transit without a visa.
Diplomatic passport holders are broadly eligible, but there are notable exceptions. Diplomatic passports from Afghanistan, Algeria, Angola, Bahrain, Comoros, Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Madagascar, Mauritania, Morocco, Pakistan, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Sierra Leone, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, Tunisia, Yemen, and Zimbabwe do not qualify.
Holders of Arab Non-National Passports are also excluded, as are stateless persons and refugees, to whom the guidance does not apply.
Australia offers free eVisitor visa to 36 countries
Earlier, YEN.com.gh also highlighted facts about Australia’s free eVisitor (subclass 651) visa and the 36 European countries whose citizens are eligible to apply.
The visa allowed multiple visits within 12 months, with each stay lasting up to three months, without an application fee.
For travellers from Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya, South Africa and other African nations, the exclusion means relying on costlier and potentially slower visa pathways.
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Source: YEN.com.gh
