Checking a visa with VEVO
VEVO, short for Visa Entitlement Verification Online, is the Department of Home Affairs’ online system for checking the details and conditions of a visa that is currently in effect. You can look up your own visa with your travel document and one reference number, then email the result to an employer, a landlord or another country’s government; registered organisations can also check it with your permission.
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. Home Affairs’ VEVO pages have the final word, and a registered migration agent or lawyer can advise on your own visa.
- Gate
- 01
- Service
- VEVO
- Bring
- Travel document and a reference number
- Also on
- The myVEVO app
Seat 1AWhat VEVO shows, and what it can’t
For your current visa, VEVO shows which visa it is, its expiry date, the “must not arrive after” date, the period of stay, and its conditions: what you can and can’t do on it.
- It doesn’t show your previous visas, or a new application the department may still be assessing.
- It can’t show a visa that isn’t in effect. Home Affairs gives the example of holding a bridging visa while your substantive visa hasn’t yet expired.
- It can’t confirm Australian citizenship. Citizens can show their citizenship certificate or Australian passport instead.
- If you migrated before 1990 and haven’t travelled out of Australia since, there may be no electronic record to find. Home Affairs lets you request an electronic record of your permanent visa, and VEVO can then show it.
Seat 1BTwo things to have ready
VEVO accepts a passport, an ImmiCard, a convention travel document (also called a Titre de Voyage), a document for travel to Australia (DFTTA) or a PLO56 evidence card.
- Transaction reference number (TRN): you have one if you applied online, and you can find it in ImmiAccount on the “online lodgement summary” screen.
- Visa grant number: on the grant notification letter you received by mail or email. It must be the number of your current visa.
- Visa evidence number: you may have one if there is a visa label in your passport.
If you were given a VEVO password, you can use that as the reference instead.
Seat 1CThe check, step by step
Home Affairs sets out the check for visa holders in this order.
- Open VEVO. It is online at any time, at Visa Entitlement Verification Online, and you choose the option to check your own visa details.
- Choose your travel document type from the list above.
- Choose the reference type and type in the number: TRN, visa grant number, visa evidence number or VEVO password.
- Enter your date of birth.
- Enter your travel document number. Home Affairs warns against typing a capital O for a zero, or a capital I for the number one.
- Enter the country of the document. With a Titre de Voyage, enter the nationality shown on it; with an ImmiCard, you don’t need a country.
- Accept the VEVO terms and conditions, then submit.
Seat 1DReading the result
The result lists your visa’s details field by field. These are some of the fields Home Affairs explains; its VEVO for visa holders page has the full list.
| Field | What Home Affairs says it means |
|---|---|
| Visa class and subclass | The visa you have been granted |
| Visa grant date | The date the department decided to give you the visa |
| Visa expiry date | For a temporary visa held in Australia, the date your period of stay ends; you must leave before midnight, Canberra time, on that date. For a permanent visa held outside Australia, the date its travel facility ends. |
| Must not arrive after date | You must enter Australia before this date. For permanent residents, it is when the visa’s travel facility ends. |
| Entries allowed | Single entry means you can enter Australia once; multiple entry means you can come and go while the visa is valid, within the period of stay you were granted |
| Work and study entitlements | Whether you may work, and whether you may study, on this visa |
| Visa conditions | For temporary visa holders, what you can and can’t do while in Australia on the visa |
Home Affairs adds that leaving Australia after a permanent visa’s travel facility has ended means needing a Resident Return visa to come back, and that departing without one can affect your permanent residency requirements for citizenship. The result also includes a field on workplace rights for visa holders.
Seat 1ESending the result to someone
From your visa details, choose “Send Email”, enter the address of the person who needs it and your own address, and send. A message on the screen confirms it has gone. Because VEVO holds your personal information, Home Affairs asks you to check the recipient’s address carefully.
The myVEVO app does the same on a phone. It is a free download; you set a PIN for later visits (three wrong entries and it asks you to set a new one), and you can choose Touch ID or Face ID. It doesn’t use a password.
Seat 1FWhen an employer or landlord checks
Organisations with a legitimate business need register for VEVO through an organisation ImmiAccount, and they need an Australian Business Number to do it. They may check a visa holder’s details only with that person’s permission, and they can’t check Australian passports.
What they see depends on the kind of organisation. An employer’s check shows whether a person has unlimited, limited or no work rights; an education provider’s shows study rights; a commercial organisation such as a real estate agent, a telecommunications provider or a financial institution sees only whether the person lives in Australia permanently or temporarily. Home Affairs recommends that organisations save a PDF of the result, because its compliance officers may ask for it.
Foreign governments can’t register. A foreign government representative who needs to know your status is asked to have you email it from VEVO yourself.
Seat 1GIf VEVO shows an error
Home Affairs suggests checking these things first:
- the details are typed correctly, without mixing up I and 1, or O and 0, and each in the right field
- you are using the reference number of your current visa, not one that isn’t in effect
- your visa hasn’t expired: VEVO can’t show an expired visa, and Home Affairs’ page on a visa that is expiring or has expired explains what to do
- the department knows about any new passport
An error can also appear when the department’s systems hold conflicting information about you, such as different dates of birth. If it still won’t resolve, follow the instructions in the error message, then use the VEVO enquiry form attaching a screenshot that shows the error, plus a copy of the travel document or ImmiCard you used.