Australia, the smallest continent and one of the largest countries on Earth, lies between the Pacific and Indian oceans in the Southern Hemisphere. Australia’s capital is Canberra, located in the southeast between the larger and more important economic and cultural centres of Sydney and Melbourne. Australia as a country and as the smallest continent, it is a host of many embassies and consulates. These have made many diplomats have one engagement or the other in the country. Some countries have chosen not to establish an embassy in Canberra but instead operate a consulate in a major city, such as Melbourne and Sydney. As of 2024, Canberra hosts 112 embassies/high commissions. Australian diplomatic visa is categorized as a Subclass.  This Subclass 995 visa is a temporary visa that is only granted to foreign officials posted to Australia. It includes members and heads of diplomatic missions, consular corps, military personnel, and staff of international agencies/organizations. This visa also lets the applicants include their family members in the application, i.e., spouse/de facto partner and single children who are below 21 years of age. An individual is granted this visa only if they have been endorsed by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) for accreditation. 995

Eligibility

This visa is for all foreign officials posted to Australia (i.e. members of the diplomatic and consular corps and the staff of some international organizations) and their dependents. Generally, the applicant is eligible for this visa if one is:

• diplomats
• consular officials
• certain international representatives
• consular employees or employees of accredited international representatives (administrative/technical staff) such as security guards
• service staff (for example, drivers, cooks and cleaners) employed by the diplomatic or consular mission or the office of the international representative and
• executive heads of the specialized agencies of the United Nations.

How To Apply For An Australian Diplomatic Visa

International diplomats qualify for an Australian class 665 visa provided their application receives the needed recommendation from the  Department of Foreign Affairs or Trade (DFAT) for accreditation.  These recommendations will come as the applicant follows the procedure below:

• Firstly, for diplomatic and consular officials, visas must be formally requested by the sending state’s foreign ministry; for staff of international organizations, visa requests must be made by the organization’s headquarters.
• Secondly, the Australian diplomatic mission or consulate with responsibility for the sending country or organization then advises what details are required for the visa request to be considered.
• For service staff, they must be employed by the sending government to get accreditation as service staff. The documents needed to establish their status are for instance:
• CV and detailed job description;
• proof of their employment such as a notice of engagement;
• diplomatic, official or service passport.

Requirement for an Australian Diplomatic Visa

The requirement for this category or visa is as follows:

1. The applicant must be outside Australia or in the migration zone while making an application.
2. The applicant must hold a valid passport issued by an official source.
3. The applicant must be recommended by the Department of Foreign Affairs or Trade (DFAT) for accreditation.
4. An applicant without a passport in exceptional circumstances is permitted to apply for the visa. The Minister determines exceptional circumstances and allows this visa if they deem it unreasonable for the applicant to hold or obtain a passport.

5. You may need to provide a full job description and CV  specifically those applying as one of the service staff

You may need to provide a letter of support from DFAT

6. You may need to provide financial documents to prove you can support yourself in Australia
7. You may need to provide character documents, such as police certificates

Processing Time Of An Australian  Diplomatic Visa

The processing timeline for this visa category is not available. The visa processing initially starts from internal directions and cross-check within the Foreign Ministry and Department of Home Affairs. However, such visas are generally processed on a priority basis. The Department may ask for additional information both from the applicants and/ or external agencies. Generally, the verification procedure for a temporary visa is less thorough than a permanent visa.

Validity of an Australian Diplomatic Visa       

An Australian Diplomatic Visa is valid under the two conditions below.

• the main visa holder should be granted a visa to have effect for the duration (specified as a date) of their status as a diplomatic/consular or international representative; and
• the accompanying person should be granted a visa to have effect for the same period as the visa granted to the primary visa holder, unless otherwise specified by DFAT.