The government’s own migration services, in plain words
The Department of Home Affairs runs its own services for people who hold a visa or are settling here: VEVO to check a visa’s details and conditions, ImmiAccount to apply for a visa or citizenship online, free document translation through TIS National, settlement programs for new arrivals, and the citizenship test. This guide, published by Dotto, walks through six of them from the department’s own pages.
Dotto is not a registered migration agent or lawyer, does not give immigration assistance or advice, and does not refer anyone to an agent. This is general information, not advice. For your own visa, a registered migration agent or an Australian legal practitioner can advise you, and the Department of Home Affairs has the final word.
- From
- Home Affairs’ own pages
- To
- Plain words
- Gates
- 01 to 06
- Published by
- Dotto
Your gatesSix services, one guide each
Each guide answers one question from the official pages, then goes through the detail in order.
- Gate 01 · Visa details
Checking a visa with VEVO
What VEVO shows about your current visa, what you need to look it up, and how to send the result to an employer or landlord.
Run by Home Affairs
- Gate 02 · Applying online
Using ImmiAccount
The two kinds of account, setting up the login code, and what to do when you are locked out.
Run by Home Affairs
- Gate 03 · Documents
The Free Translating Service
Who can have up to 10 personal documents translated into English, which documents count, and how long it takes.
Run by TIS National for Home Affairs
- Gate 04 · Arriving
Settlement services
The government’s settlement programs side by side: who each one is for and what it offers.
Funded by Home Affairs
- Gate 05 · Citizenship
Becoming a citizen
The conferral path in order: residence, the test, the decision, and the pledge at a ceremony.
Run by Home Affairs
- Gate 06 · Staying safe
Visa scams
The signs of a scam agent or a threatening call, and where to report one.
From Home Affairs and Scamwatch
Departures boardEvery official service in this guide
One line each, with who runs it. Follow the link for the guide or the official page.
| Service | What it does | Who runs it | Where to read more |
|---|---|---|---|
| VEVO | Shows the details and conditions of your current visa, and lets employers, education providers and other organisations check them too | Department of Home Affairs | Gate 01: checking a visa with VEVO |
| ImmiAccount | Apply for a visa or citizenship online, then check messages and your application’s status | Department of Home Affairs | Gate 02: using ImmiAccount |
| Free Translating Service | Translates up to 10 personal documents into English for permanent residents and eligible visa holders | TIS National, on behalf of Home Affairs | Gate 03: the Free Translating Service |
| TIS National | Phone, video and on-site interpreting, and translating, in more than 150 languages | Department of Home Affairs | Home Affairs: TIS National |
| Humanitarian Settlement Program | Case-managed support for humanitarian entrants and other eligible visa holders during their first settlement | Home Affairs, through HSP service providers | Gate 04: settlement services |
| SETS | Settlement information, advice, advocacy and help to use mainstream services | 102 funded lead providers across Australia | Gate 04: settlement services |
| Adult Migrant English Program | Free English tuition for eligible migrants and humanitarian entrants | Department of Home Affairs | Home Affairs: the AMEP |
| Citizenship test | Twenty multiple choice questions, part of most applications for citizenship by conferral | Department of Home Affairs | Gate 05: becoming a citizen |
| Border Watch | Takes reports of suspected visa scams, and you can stay anonymous | Department of Home Affairs | Gate 06: visa scams |
Before you boardWhere advice comes from
Home Affairs calls help with a visa application “immigration assistance”: preparing an application or other document, advising about a visa matter, or representing someone in proceedings about one. Home Affairs is plain about who may do it: “If you appoint someone to give you immigration assistance, they must be: a registered migration agent, a legal practitioner, or an exempt person.”
The department also says that in Australia it is illegal for a third party to give paid immigration assistance unless they are a registered migration agent or an Australian legal practitioner, and that penalties apply. Registered migration agents are registered with the department’s Office of the Migration Agents Registration Authority (OMARA).
This guide explains how the government’s services work. It can’t tell you which visa to apply for or whether a rule fits your situation; that is a question for a registered migration agent or a lawyer.
About this guideWho wrote it, and from what
This is a guide to the Australian Government’s own migration services in plain words, published by Dotto. It is not part of the Department of Home Affairs and has no connection with it.
Every guide is written from the department’s immigration and citizenship pages, TIS National’s pages and Scamwatch. The sources for each page are listed at its foot. Services and rules change, so where this guide and an official page differ, the official page is right.