To step outside Brisbane airport you need Australia's permission before you board, whatever your passport, unless you're Australian or a New Zealander. To stay airside, many passports need nothing, as long as the next flight leaves the same day within 8 hours.
To leave Brisbane airport, yes. Americans and Canadians apply for an ETA (A$20, usually granted at once), British and EU citizens can use the free eVisitor, and Indian citizens need a Visitor visa (from A$250) or the free Transit visa. Staying airside on a listed passport, with your next flight the same day within 8 hours, you need nothing; Brisbane allows no overnight stay airside.
If you stay airside
At Brisbane Airport (BNE), an international connection on one ticket stays inside the International Terminal: you follow the “International Transit/Transfer Passenger” signs up to the Level 3 departures area without passing passport control. Whether you need any paperwork for that depends on your passport and on how long you wait.
- No paperwork needed if all of these are true: your passport is on Home Affairs’ transit-without-visa list, which covers the US, the UK, Canada, New Zealand, Japan, Singapore and most European countries among others; your onward flight to another country leaves within 8 hours of landing, on the same day; and nothing makes you pass immigration, such as collecting a bag or a boarding pass.
- No overnight waits. Brisbane lets transit passengers wait airside only for a flight the same day. For an overnight connection you need an ETA, eVisitor or visa, so that you can pass the border and sleep landside.
- Not on the list. Ordinary Indian passports aren’t, so even an airside connection at Brisbane needs the free Transit visa (below).
- Connecting to a domestic flight always means passing the border at Brisbane: you clear passport control, collect your bags and pass biosecurity and customs before moving to the Domestic Terminal, 4 km away. You need an ETA, eVisitor or visa for that.
- When in doubt, get the ETA or eVisitor. Home Affairs warns that the airport’s set-up can mean you have to clear immigration even when you meet every other condition, and the eVisitor is free.
If you want to leave the airport
Walking out of the terminal, even for an hour in Queen Street Mall, counts as entering Australia. Only Australian citizens, and New Zealand citizens who are granted a visa at the border, can do that without applying first. Everyone else needs a grant before the flight: the airline checks it at check-in.
| Passport | What you need to leave Brisbane airport |
|---|---|
| Australian | Nothing |
| New Zealand | Nothing in advance: a visa is granted when you arrive |
| US, Canada | An ETA (A$20) |
| UK (British citizen) | The free eVisitor, or an ETA (A$20) |
| EU and most of Europe | The free eVisitor; many can use the ETA too |
| India and others on neither list | A Visitor visa (from A$250), or the free Transit visa for up to 72 hours |
The Australian ETA
- Applying. Only in the Australian ETA app, on a phone with a camera and NFC: you scan your passport, take a photo and pay a A$20 service charge.
- Waiting. In most cases the answer comes immediately, but it can take longer. Apply when you book the trip, not at the gate.
- What you get. Visits of up to 3 months at a time, for 12 months or until your passport expires, whichever comes first. The ETA is held electronically against your passport, so travel on that same passport.
The eVisitor
The free option for British citizens and the EU and other European passports on Home Affairs’ list, applied for online. It covers the same as the ETA: visits of up to 3 months over 12 months. Most applications are decided within a day, but yours could take longer, so apply a few days before you fly. If you’ve left it late and your passport can also use the ETA, the app usually answers at once.
Transit visa (subclass 771)
For passports that can’t use the ETA or eVisitor, most often Indian ones. It costs nothing and lets you be in Australia for up to 72 hours on the way to another country, which is enough for a day in Brisbane or a night at an airport hotel. Apply in ImmiAccount from outside Australia, one application for each traveller, with a confirmed booking that leaves Australia within 72 hours of arriving. There’s no published decision time, so allow several weeks.
Visitor visa (subclass 600)
Australia’s tourist visa, from A$250. For a layover alone, the free Transit visa does the same job; the Visitor visa suits you if Australia is also a destination on this trip.
If you’re on separate tickets
Two separate bookings aren’t a connection to the airline at Brisbane, so your bags aren’t checked through. You pass passport control, collect your bags, clear biosecurity and customs, then check in again in the International Terminal, on Level 4 for most airlines (a few, including China Southern and China Eastern, use Level 2 for now: the screens show your row). That means you need an ETA, eVisitor or visa even if you never leave the building. Leave plenty of time: the second airline’s check-in can close well before departure, and Brisbane Airport suggests arriving 3 hours before an international flight when you still have to check in.
At the border
- SmartGate. If you’re 7 or older, at least 1.1 m tall and travelling on an ePassport, you can usually use the automated gates instead of a desk.
- The Incoming Passenger Card. Fill it in before you land. It asks what you’re carrying, and New Zealanders need it to be granted their visa.
- Food and plants. Declare all food, including anything from the plane, as well as plants, seeds and animal products. Officers may look at it and take it, but you won’t be fined for anything you declare. Giving false answers can cost up to A$7,280, and even your visa.
- Bags. Border Force or biosecurity officers may check your bags after you collect them, which is the stage most likely to slow you down.
- Time. Brisbane publishes no queue times. Allow about an hour from landing to the Airtrain.
Your passport
Australia asks for a passport that is valid when you arrive, with no six-month rule. Your next country, or your airline, may want more validity, so check with them. If your passport expires or you replace it, the ETA or eVisitor linked to it ends, and you need a new one.
Before you go landside
- Check that your bags are checked through to your final destination. If they aren’t, collect them and leave them in a locker in the terminal: trolleys aren’t allowed on the Airtrain.
- Keep your onward boarding pass with you, and be back at the International Terminal 90 minutes before your flight, or earlier if you still have to check in.
The Airtrain, the last train back and the time you’ll have in town: getting into the city.