Publications, Research & Statistics

Australian Immigration Guide on Work Rights

How to read a visa label

The key features you need to identify on a visa label are highlighted below.

Click on each label description to go to explanation.

Work Condition Period of Stay Visa Number Visa Class and Subclass Visa holder

Note: It is important to find the most recently issued visa label in the passport by looking at the 'granted' date (21 September 2002 in the above example)

1. Visa Holder

The name that appears here is the name of the person who was granted this visa. In the above example, the visa was granted to John Darwin.

[back to visa label]

2. Visa Class and Subclass

Visas are arranged into groupings known as Classes and Subclasses. When you apply for a visa, you apply for a particular Class of a visa, which may be broken down further into a number of different Subclasses. In the above example the visa Class is a Class TU student visa, and the Subclass is Subclass 574.

[back to visa label]

3. Visa number

The visa number is a unique number that reflects the record of the visa that appears in DIMA systems. In the above example, the visa number is 8126176471C. A visa number will always be a 10 digit number followed by an alphabetical character.

[back to visa label]

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