ImmiAccount: how to actually link (import) an existing visa application
ImmiAccount has no 'link a visa' feature — the real function is Import Application. This covers how it works, what it can't import, the pre-1990 no-record case, and how VEVO fits in. Figures as at September 2026.
Read the full guide, with official sources →
Watch
Chapters
- 0:00 There's no 'link a visa' button.
- 0:14 Four steps
- 0:25 What it asks for
- 0:51 Paper applications: all three, or it fails
- 1:01 Two different tools
- 1:16 Migrated before 1990
- 1:26 The fix: request an electronic record,
- 1:37 No match? Check these first
- 1:48 Removing it isn't withdrawing it
- 2:00 Where to read more
Transcript
Searching for how to link an old visa to ImmiAccount? There's no button called 'link'. The Department calls this Import Application, and it has its own rules.
Here's how it works. Log in to ImmiAccount. Select Import Application. Enter the main applicant's details. Select Confirm.
The details it asks for are the application ID or Transaction Reference Number, the date of birth, and the passport number and country.
It won't import everything. Paper applications with no online equivalent, partner visa applications, organisation applications or nominations, applications with an ID starting with I R I S, and finalised paper applications are all excluded.
A paper application only imports if three things are all true: you submitted it, the same type is also available online, and it's still being processed.
Import Application and VEVO solve different problems. Import Application needs an ImmiAccount and brings in an application record. VEVO needs no ImmiAccount, and shows a granted visa's conditions and expiry.
One group is flagged as likely to have no electronic record at all: people who migrated to Australia before 1990 and haven't left the country since.
The fix isn't calling anyone first. It's applying to have the visa recorded electronically, through the Proof of permanent residence process. Then VEVO can confirm it.
If Import Application says no match and you think it should work, check the application ID or TRN for a wrong digit, the date of birth, and the passport number and country.
The mistake people make at the end: removing an imported application from ImmiAccount does not withdraw it. It only comes off your dashboard — the application itself is unaffected.
The full guide, with the official sources, is on migratio.com.au. The link is in the description.
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