The Short Answer
Yes, Singapore citizens need an Australian ETA to visit Australia: the Electronic Travel Authority, subclass 601, applied for through the official Australian ETA app before you travel. Singapore passports do not get visa-free entry to Australia, so you must hold the ETA before you check in. It is linked electronically to your passport, so there is no label or sticker. In most cases Home Affairs tells you the result immediately, and once granted the ETA lets you visit for up to three months at a time over a twelve-month period, as many times as you like. There is no visa application charge for the ETA itself. The only cost is a AUD 20 service charge for using the app, about €12 or US$14 at the 8 October 2026 exchange rate.
AUD 20 Is the Whole Price, and Only Through the App
Home Affairs is explicit: "There is a service charge of AUD20 to use the Australian ETA app. There is no other charge payable for an ETA." That one line settles most of the confusion behind searches for an Australia ETA from Singapore. Websites that offer to "process" an Australian ETA for a fee are not a separate government channel. Home Affairs names only one way to apply, the app, and even an authorised travel agent who applies on your behalf does it in that same app, with you physically present to scan your passport and take your photo. Anything you pay above AUD 20 goes to a middleman, and it buys you nothing the app does not already give you. Pay the AUD 20 inside the Australian ETA app and nowhere else.
The App Is the Only Way In
For a Singapore passport, the ETA is applied for through the Australian ETA app and nothing else. There is no desktop web form and no paper application for this visa. The app is a free download from the Apple App Store and Google Play; search for "AustralianETA". After you open it, you scan your passport, and the app fills in your name, date of birth, passport number and other details from it, so you do not type them. Because the app reads the passport chip, your phone needs NFC switched on, the same contactless function used for tap payments, along with a working camera and location services. You then take a live photo of yourself, which the system uses to match you to your passport, and answer a short set of questions, including any criminal convictions, any other names you have used and your contact details in Australia. Finally you pay the service charge and submit.
What You Need Before You Open the App
- Your Singapore passport, which you will also travel on. The ETA is tied to it and ends if the passport expires or is replaced
- A phone with a camera, NFC switched on and location services enabled
- An email address you can access, where Home Affairs sends the decision
- A payment card for the AUD 20 service charge
- To be outside Australia, both when you apply and when the ETA is granted
- A reason for the trip that fits the visa: a holiday, visiting family or friends, or business visitor activities such as meetings and conferences
Families, Children and Applying for Someone Else
Each ETA covers one person. You cannot add a spouse or children to your own application, even if a child is listed in your passport; every family member needs a separate application and pays a separate AUD 20 service charge. If the whole family applies on the same phone, you can submit and pay for all the applications at the same time. A friend or relative can help you through the app, but they must be physically with you when you apply, because the app needs your passport in hand and your live photo. The same applies to travel agents, who can apply on your behalf using the app but cannot do it remotely. Before you submit, check that every name and date of birth matches the passport exactly. Home Affairs warns that ETA details which do not match the passport can delay you at boarding.
How Long It Lasts and How Long You Can Stay
Two different clocks matter, and travellers often confuse them. The ETA is valid for travel to Australia for twelve months, or for as long as your passport is valid if that is shorter. Within that period you can enter Australia as often as you want, because it is a multiple-entry visa. The separate limit is how long each visit can run: you can stay for three months after each entry. The twelve-month window is not a stay allowance you can spend in one block, and the three-month clock starts again each time you enter, not when the ETA is granted. You can study or train for up to three months in total on an ETA, and you cannot do paid work for an Australian employer; Home Affairs says an ETA used for work can be cancelled. If you renew your Singapore passport, the ETA on the old one ceases and you need a new ETA on the new passport, even if the twelve months have not run out.
Why Singapore Pays While Some Other Visitors Don't
A common point of confusion is that a French or German visitor can come to Australia without paying anything while a Singaporean pays AUD 20. The reason is that Australia runs two parallel short-stay visas. The eVisitor, subclass 651, is open only to citizens of the European Union countries, the EFTA states, the United Kingdom and a few European microstates. It is applied for online and has no charge. The ETA, subclass 601, is open to a wider list of passports, Singapore among them, along with Brunei, Malaysia, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong, the United States and Canada. Most European passports are on both lists. A Singapore passport is not eligible for the eVisitor, so the app route is the one that applies to you. Both visas follow the same pattern: twelve months of validity, multiple entries and up to three months after each entry. Only the channel and the AUD 20 differ.
What Still Happens at the Border
An ETA lets you board and be processed on arrival, but the process is not finished there. Everyone who arrives in Australia must complete an incoming passenger declaration, which covers your identity together with customs and biosecurity questions: food, plant material, animal products and any goods to declare. Australia enforces biosecurity strictly, so answer every question honestly and declare anything you are unsure about. The paper card is being replaced by a digital Australia Travel Declaration that you complete before you fly; GoMate's news story on Australia's digital arrival card explains which flights already use it and when the rest of the country's airports and seaports follow. At the airport you may be able to use SmartGate, the automated gates that match your face to your ePassport. Keep a copy of your ETA grant notice on your phone, because Home Affairs advises carrying the decision with you while you are in Australia.
When the App Won't Work for You
A few situations fall outside the ETA. If you have a criminal conviction in any country, Home Affairs says to apply for a Visitor visa, subclass 600, instead and to provide evidence about the conviction. The same applies if you have previously failed Australia's health requirement or will be entering hospitals or other health care settings during the visit. If you want to stay longer than three months in one visit, the Visitor visa can be granted for three, six or twelve months. If you are ineligible for the ETA or unable to use the app, for instance because no phone available to you can read the passport chip, you apply for another visa online through an ImmiAccount on the Home Affairs website. That is a full visa application rather than an app check, so leave much more time. Whichever visa you need, the timing advice is the same. Home Affairs says to "not make travel arrangements until we grant your ETA." Most ETAs come through straight away, but one that needs more information or is hard to verify can take longer, so leave a buffer instead of applying the night before a flight.
Key Takeaway
Singapore passport holders need an ETA, subclass 601, to visit Australia. You apply only through the official Australian ETA app, which reads your passport chip and takes a live photo, and the only cost is a AUD 20 service charge, about €12. The ETA is valid for twelve months, or until your passport expires if that comes first. It allows multiple entries of up to three months each for holidays, family visits or business visitor activities, but not paid work. Apply from outside Australia, one application per traveller, and ignore websites that charge more. If you have a criminal conviction or need a longer stay, apply for a Visitor visa, subclass 600, through ImmiAccount instead.
