Common types of Australian visas 005-02030010

The type of visa held by a non-Australian citizen indicates their residence status within Australia. Visas are broken down into a series of classes and subclasses that identify the grounds of entry into Australia and whether any conditions have been placed upon the holder.

The References page contains links to Chapter 9 of the Social Security Guide, which contains information about various visa subclasses. This is the best way to determine whether the type of visa held by the customer entitles the holder to any income support payments.

It lists each subclass which can provide an entitlement and advises:

• if any conditions apply or may be imposed on the holder (such as Assurance of Support)
• whether the holder is eligible for any income support payments, and
• whether the subclass conveys any qualifying residence exemptions from residence requirements such as the Newly Arrived Resident's Waiting Period (NARWP)

Note: if a visa subclass is not listed, the Department of Social Security (DSS) has determined it does not entitle a holder to any payments or concessions.

The new claim process will attempt a datalink with the Department of Home Affairs. If successful, the Immigration Datalink will automatically record a customer's visa subclass details from 1 September 1994 and will include any change in visa details. The datalink will also record customer's movement information and grants of Australian citizenship where available.

For further information, or if the datalink is unavailable, see Activating the Department of Home Affairs datalink and contingency procedures

If a customer has citizenship of a country other than Australia, or an Australian citizen needs a particular visa subclass to qualify for payment (for example, when they are a former refugee claiming Age Pension without 10 years Australian residence), the customer's visa subclasses must be recorded on the Legal Residence Details (RSLEG) screen during new claim processing. The Immigration Datalink will automatically populate this information if a successful link has been established.

Assessing if a customer is an Australian resident provides information about determining who is an Australian resident, including whether a visa subclass provides an exemption from residence requirements.