Australian Visa - Are they Mandatory for Short Vacations?
Oct 12th, 2004, 12:23 PM
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Sep 2004
Posts: 17
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Australian Visa - Are they Mandatory for Short Vacations?
A group of us will be traveling to Australia in November and some of us have applied for Visas while others think that they don't need them. Who is correct? We will be staying for 17 days. Can they apply for a Visa when they land in Australia? HELP!
Oct 12th, 2004, 02:17 PM
#3
Join Date: Dec 2003
Posts: 3,501
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Hello Dellis31,
I see from a previous post that you're from the U.S.
You need a visa to visit Australia, and you need to get the visa in advance of your visit.
For some time now Australia's visitor's visa has taken the form of an Electronic Travel Authority (ETA). It works a bit like the e-tickets that airlines sometimes issue these days. The visa isn't a physical stamp in your passport as it was in the olden days. Rather, the information is stored in an electronic database that the immigration official will access when you present yourself at an Australian port of entry.
In theory the ETA is issued free of charge. In reality, you may have to pay someone a processing fee in order to get the ETA. Here are the ways you can apply for an ETA:
* Apply yourself at a website run by Australia's Department of Immigration and Multicultural and Indigenous Affairs (DIMIA). This costs 20 AUD (14 USD), payable by credit card. The charge is not for the ETA itself, but for the Internet service. The website is:
http://www.eta.immi.gov.au/
* Apply via one of the other (non-government) Internet companies that offer this service. I've never tried them, but I suspect they would pad the fee a little bit. I can't see the point of using them when you can deal directly with the Australian government.
* Have your travel agent apply on your behalf. Some travel agents offer the service for free, and some charge for it.
* Have your airline apply on your behalf. Not all airlines offer this service, but some do. Air Canada did it for my family members and me. They did it over the phone for free, and it took just a couple of minutes.
* You can go to the Australian embassy or an Australian consulate in your country and apply for free. Australia has an embassy in Washington DC, and it has consulates in Atlanta, Chicago, Honolulu, Los Angeles, New York City, San Francisco. Of course this method, while it theoretically is free, only works in practice if (a) you live in a city in which there's an Australian consulate, (b) you have free time to visit the consulate during its business hours, and (c) you can get free transportation and parking near the consulate (otherwise the cost of transportation and parking will exceed the cost of applying over the Internet, I would think). Since you've said you live in a small town, this option wouldn't suit you.
Last but not least, it's useful to apply in good time (at least six weeks ahead of your travel date would be ideal, I think). Usually ETAs are issued quickly, but there occasionally are delays. Australia doesn't admit people with criminal records, for example. Even if you have a clean record, your name just might be similar to someone who has a criminal record, and they might take extra time checking out your identity. There is a previous discussion thread about this at
http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...3&tid=34524520
P.S. Every now and then some joker thinks it's funny to remark on the paradox that a criminal record no longer is necessary for admission to Australia. A guy that my husband knew at work was one of them. He eventually was permitted to re-pack his suitcase and emerge from the interrogation room.
I see from a previous post that you're from the U.S.
You need a visa to visit Australia, and you need to get the visa in advance of your visit.
For some time now Australia's visitor's visa has taken the form of an Electronic Travel Authority (ETA). It works a bit like the e-tickets that airlines sometimes issue these days. The visa isn't a physical stamp in your passport as it was in the olden days. Rather, the information is stored in an electronic database that the immigration official will access when you present yourself at an Australian port of entry.
In theory the ETA is issued free of charge. In reality, you may have to pay someone a processing fee in order to get the ETA. Here are the ways you can apply for an ETA:
* Apply yourself at a website run by Australia's Department of Immigration and Multicultural and Indigenous Affairs (DIMIA). This costs 20 AUD (14 USD), payable by credit card. The charge is not for the ETA itself, but for the Internet service. The website is:
http://www.eta.immi.gov.au/
* Apply via one of the other (non-government) Internet companies that offer this service. I've never tried them, but I suspect they would pad the fee a little bit. I can't see the point of using them when you can deal directly with the Australian government.
* Have your travel agent apply on your behalf. Some travel agents offer the service for free, and some charge for it.
* Have your airline apply on your behalf. Not all airlines offer this service, but some do. Air Canada did it for my family members and me. They did it over the phone for free, and it took just a couple of minutes.
* You can go to the Australian embassy or an Australian consulate in your country and apply for free. Australia has an embassy in Washington DC, and it has consulates in Atlanta, Chicago, Honolulu, Los Angeles, New York City, San Francisco. Of course this method, while it theoretically is free, only works in practice if (a) you live in a city in which there's an Australian consulate, (b) you have free time to visit the consulate during its business hours, and (c) you can get free transportation and parking near the consulate (otherwise the cost of transportation and parking will exceed the cost of applying over the Internet, I would think). Since you've said you live in a small town, this option wouldn't suit you.
Last but not least, it's useful to apply in good time (at least six weeks ahead of your travel date would be ideal, I think). Usually ETAs are issued quickly, but there occasionally are delays. Australia doesn't admit people with criminal records, for example. Even if you have a clean record, your name just might be similar to someone who has a criminal record, and they might take extra time checking out your identity. There is a previous discussion thread about this at
http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...3&tid=34524520
P.S. Every now and then some joker thinks it's funny to remark on the paradox that a criminal record no longer is necessary for admission to Australia. A guy that my husband knew at work was one of them. He eventually was permitted to re-pack his suitcase and emerge from the interrogation room.
Oct 12th, 2004, 07:01 PM
#6
Join Date: Jan 2003
Posts: 1,283
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Dellis,
You MUST have a Visa or you will be denied entry. You can either do it online, where there will be a charge; go to your travel agent, if you used one (we don't charge our clients); or contact your airline.
Regards,
Melodie
Certified Aussie Specialist
You MUST have a Visa or you will be denied entry. You can either do it online, where there will be a charge; go to your travel agent, if you used one (we don't charge our clients); or contact your airline.
Regards,
Melodie
Certified Aussie Specialist
Oct 13th, 2004, 03:02 AM
#7
Join Date: Jun 2004
Posts: 151
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
This thread may seem misleading. It is not that you are from the US that you require a visa, it is because you are not from New Zealand whom only need a passport(last I heard anyway). Just about all nationalities require a visa.
Oct 13th, 2004, 03:32 AM
#8
Join Date: Feb 2004
Posts: 609
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Hi Jane
Yes lts time I checked it is only us Kiwi's who don't require a visa to get into OZ.
dellis you could always come to New Zealand. Americans do not require a visa for here. (Though sadly I am required to have my fingerprints taken and be interviewed at the US High Commission here in Auckland if I want a visa to go to the USA. The times they certainly have a changed).
Steve
Yes lts time I checked it is only us Kiwi's who don't require a visa to get into OZ.
dellis you could always come to New Zealand. Americans do not require a visa for here. (Though sadly I am required to have my fingerprints taken and be interviewed at the US High Commission here in Auckland if I want a visa to go to the USA. The times they certainly have a changed).
Steve
Oct 13th, 2004, 05:11 AM
#10
Join Date: Jun 2004
Posts: 151
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Kiwi
Yes we let the Kiwi human in without any resistance but was reading today the Kiwis are upset we don't let Kiwi apples in.
Don't feel discrimination, we don't even let our fruits cross state lines!
Yes we let the Kiwi human in without any resistance but was reading today the Kiwis are upset we don't let Kiwi apples in.
Don't feel discrimination, we don't even let our fruits cross state lines!
Oct 13th, 2004, 08:25 AM
#11
Original Poster
Join Date: Sep 2004
Posts: 17
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Thanks for your insights and humor. Cracked me up! LOL Some of us are thinking of coming to New Zealand in March 2005. That will be a fun trip too. I think I had a Kiwi apple yesterday and an OZ orange for breakfast this moring. Humm... ok for the fruit, just not the people. No worries, I have an Australian Visa.
Oct 14th, 2004, 01:59 AM
#13
Join Date: Jun 2004
Posts: 151
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Margo
Given how obsessive we are about our borders it may not be long before we also take that route.
Dellis
Hope you have a great time. Hope all your group get, if not I heard that the immigration detention centres only charge $100/day so cheap holiday for the visa-less!
Oct 14th, 2004, 03:10 PM
#15
Join Date: Aug 2003
Posts: 9,922
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
So far we have 3 varieties of Kiwi: a flightless bird, a human (both inhabitants of the Land of the Long White Cloud) and a fruit which used to be known as a Chinese gooseberry until the (human) Kiwis rebranded it the kiwifruit in a marketing coup. Is it any wonder people get confused?
Oct 15th, 2004, 03:48 AM
#17
Join Date: Jun 2004
Posts: 151
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Well Australia doesn't want Kiwi apples, now a US department store doesn't want our wool products because of a potential protest by activists dressed up as sheep.
And I thought we were all friends!
Oct 18th, 2004, 10:38 PM
#19
Join Date: May 2004
Posts: 12
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
My family is travelling to Australia from Alaska next April and flying Korean Airlines from Anchorage to Seoul, Seoul to Sydney. I asked about the need for a visa. I was told all we need is our passports and Korean Airlines will give us the ETA, if fact they will get fined if they deliver us to Australia without them. I hope this helps.
Oct 18th, 2004, 10:47 PM
#20
Join Date: Aug 2003
Posts: 9,922
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
akclub1, your advice might be right for all I know, but I'd be playing safe and satisfying myself beyond reasonable doubt before setting out. Do you have this advice in writing, and is KAL charging you for the ETAs?
Thread
Original Poster
Forum
Replies
Last Post
ivenotbeeneverywhere
Australia & the Pacific
9
Nov 24th, 2009 12:20 PM
melhog
Australia & the Pacific
13
Aug 27th, 2004 02:30 PM
hotandsweaty
Australia & the Pacific
15
Nov 3rd, 2003 02:52 PM
