Are You Unable To Leave Australia, But Have No Other Visa Options Available? – COVID-19 Pandemic Event

Imagine this: You are a visa holder in Australia and your current visa is close to expiring, but you are not able to apply for any other visas to stay in Australia – maybe you need more time to meet eligibility criteria (waiting to achieve your IELTS results). Or you want to leave Australia, but due to COVID-19, your home country is not allowing flights inwards. Or maybe you have been working as an essential worker, and would like to continue your work. You need to apply for a visa to allow you to stay in Australia and plan your next step, but what can you do?

Luckily, the Department of Home Affairs introduced an option to help visa applicants who have been caught in such predicament – the Temporary Activity Visa (subclass 408) Australian Government endorsed events (COVID-19 Pandemic event).

The eligibility criteria for this visa are:

  • You must be in Australia;
  • You are holding a visa that has 90 days or less to expire, or your last substantive visa has expired in the last 28 days;
  • You must arrange appropriate insurance for yourself and your dependents;
  • You should have enough money to support yourself and your dependents;
  • You should meet health and character requirements.


If you are working in a critical sector, you must provide proof of your employment, as well as confirmation from your employer that an Australian citizen or a permanent resident cannot fill the position. You will need to provide evidence that you are working in any of the following sectors:

  • agriculture
  • food processing
  • health care
  • aged care
  • disability care
  • child care, and
  • tourism and hospitality

Typically, this 408 visa allows people to come to Australia to do specific work on a short-term temporary basis. The conventional streams for this visa includes the following:

  • Special Program

This visa lets you stay in Australia to take part in an approved special program, for up to 12 months. Special programs can include youth exchange, cultural enrichment or community programs, school language assistants or “gap year school volunteering “.

  • Religious Work

This visa lets you do full-time religious work for a religious institution in Australia. You and your family who apply for the visa with you can stay here for up to 2 years.

  • Research Activities

This visa lets you observe or take part in a research project at a research or tertiary institution in Australia. You and your family who apply for the visa with you can stay here for up to 2 years.

  • Invited Participant (Invited for other social and cultural activity)

This visa lets you come to Australia if you are invited to participate in a community-based event, including sporting events. You and your family who travel on the visa with you can stay here for up to 3 months.

  • Sporting Activities

This visa allows you to play, coach, instruct or adjudicate for an Australian team, or do high level sports training with a sporting organisation. You and your family can stay in Australia for up to 2 years.

  • Entertainment Activities

This temporary visa lets you come to Australia to work in the entertainment industry on film, television or live productions as a performer, production or support staff. The duration for this stream is up to 2 years. You can include family members in your visa application.

  • Superyacht Crew

This visa lets you work in Australia as a crew member of a superyacht. You can stay here for up to 12 months.

  • Exchange Arrangements

This visa lets you come to Australia as part of a staff exchange with an Australian organisation. You and your family members who travel here on the visa with you can stay for up to 2 years.

  • Domestic Work for Executives

This visa lets you come to Australia to do full-time domestic work in the household of certain senior foreign executives. You and members of your family unit can stay here for up to 2 years.

  • Australian Government Endorsed Events – Which includes the COVID-19 Pandemic Event option

This temporary visa lets you come to Australia to participate in events which are endorsed by the Australian Government. This allows you to stay for the duration of the event (up to 4 years).
However, the COVID-19 Pandemic Event allows you to stay up to 12 months if you are working in a critical sector. It is 3 months if you are only waiting to depart Australia, or if you are looking to remain in Australia and the work you are currently doing is not in a critical sector. 

Are you eligible for this visa, or do you have any more questions about this visa? Feel free to send us an enquiry or call our offices to book an appointment with one of our registered migration agents.

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