Non-citizens seeking to enter Australia claiming to be an Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander Australian
The Australian Border Force (ABF) will not allow a person to enter Australia without a valid visa solely because they claim at the border they are Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander Australian.
A non-citizen seeking to enter Australia claiming they are Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander Australian should make a claim and have that claim resolved before attempting to travel to Australia.
Non-citizens seeking to enter Australia on the basis that they are Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander Australian must provide evidence, before travel, that they:
- are biologically descended from Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander Australians
- self-identify as an Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander person
- are recognised by an elder or others who hold traditional authority in the same community from which they are descended. Traditional authority means authority in an Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander community which had a spiritual connection to country from before British settlement, and has since that time continued to follow laws and customs that came before British settlement.
Please provide your evidence to
indigenous.australians@homeaffairs.gov.au
