ImmiAccount Explained: Login, MFA Setup, Payments & Linking a Visa

How to set up and use ImmiAccount, the Home Affairs portal for Australian visa applications — mandatory MFA since 18 June 2025, lodging a visa, linking one you already hold, paying charges, attaching documents, and the difference between Form 956 and Form 956A. Figures as at September 2026.

Read the full guide, with official sources →

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Chapters

  1. 0:00 ImmiAccount ≠ MyGov
  2. 0:11 Two different portals,
  3. 0:22 MFA has been mandatory
  4. 0:33 Free to set up,
  5. 0:53 How lodging works,
  6. 1:03 Linking a visa needs
  7. 1:23 The stages an application
  8. 1:34 Card surcharge:
  9. 1:45 Declined but still pending?
  10. 1:55 Documents: 5 MB cap,
  11. 2:06 Form 956A vs Form 956:
  12. 2:20 Correspondence deadlines
  13. 2:36 Locked out?
  14. 2:57 Where to read more

Transcript

ImmiAccount and MyGov are not the same login — mixing them up is one of the most common mistakes visa applicants make.

ImmiAccount is the Department of Home Affairs' own portal for lodging and managing visa applications. MyGov handles Medicare, Centrelink and the Tax Office instead.

Since 18 June 2025, every ImmiAccount login needs multi-factor authentication — an authenticator app, or a code sent to your email.

Setting up an ImmiAccount is free and takes about 5 minutes — you'll need a working email, a password, and a set of security questions.

Inside ImmiAccount you can start or continue an application, attach documents, pay charges, link an existing visa, and view Department correspondence.

Lodging works in order: pick a visa category, choose the subclass, complete the online form, then submit and pay to move it out of draft.

Linking a visa you already hold needs your passport number, a transaction reference number, or the visa grant number — plus identity details.

Migrated before 1990 and haven't travelled since? There may be no searchable electronic record — Home Affairs publishes separate guidance for requesting one.

Status moves through several stages: received, initial assessment, further assessment, then finalised — a grant, a refusal, or a withdrawal.

Charges are paid by card only — no BPAY, no PayPal — and a surcharge of 0.98 to 1.99 percent applies depending on the card scheme.

If a card declines but the charge still shows as pending, it usually drops off within 3 to 7 business days because the transaction never actually completed.

Documents attach as PDF, JPG and similar formats, capped at 5 megabytes each — and once attached, you can't delete them yourself.

Form 956A appoints a registered migration agent, who then becomes the Department's main contact. Form 956, without the A, appoints an authorised recipient instead — a different role entirely.

Correspondence, including requests to comment on adverse information, arrives inside ImmiAccount itself, under section 359A of the Migration Act 1958. Miss a stated deadline, and a decision can be made without your response.

Too many failed logins locks the account, commonly for around 30 minutes, before you can try again.

Visitor visas like the 600 and the ETA 601 are often straightforward through ImmiAccount alone — prior refusals, character issues, or a tribunal appeal are where the portal's questions get much harder to answer.

The full guide, with the official sources, is on migratio.com.au. The link is in the description.

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