Australian Visa

[FAMILYCRUISEMAN]

We are cruising from Australia to New Zealand and find we need to have an Australian visa. Has anyone gotten one and what is the process and the pricing? We are only going to be in Australia two days before the cruise.  We also want to know about the visa process for New Zealand. Any help would be appreciated. Thank you. 

[arxcards]

Here's a recent one

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[Sparky74]

When applying for the Australian one make sure you use the offical Australian government app or website. The website will end in .gov.au

There are a number of third party websites that will charge you significantly more. 

[cruiser3775]

You will need a visa for both Australia and New Zealand. Mostly for Australia, the visa is granted within hours of your application. However, if you are selected for manual processing, it can literally take months to be approved.  So you need to apply asap. Here's where to start:

https://immi.homeaffairs.gov.au/visas/getting-a-visa/visa-listing

 

New Zealand is a separate country with its own rules. This is their government website:

https://www.immigration.govt.nz/about-us/policy-and-law/how-the-immigration-system-operates/visa-application-process

 

Note that both countries have very strict rules on granting visas if you have any kind of conviction, including convictions for drink driving for example.

[yarramar]

There have been many reports of people accidentally marking a box incorrectly and then being rejected or having the application being looked at manually.

Be very careful that you check every question and answer thoroughly before submitting

[arxcards]

To be clear with terms, if you are travelling here or NZ for holidays, you do not need a visa - but you do need to apply for Visa Waivers (ETA & NZeTA - Electronic Travel Authorities). In principle, these ETA's are free, but come with a $AU20 admin fee, and they are good for a couple of years.

 

It doesn't matter how long you are in Australia. If you want to leave the airport, you will need to complete the ETA. Most contributors here don't get these for our resident country, and we have reciprocal arrangements between Australia & New Zealand. We do complete similar online ESTA forms to be able to enter the US though.

[buchhalm]

Make sure that you enter details EXACTLY as in your passport. 

For example, if your name in the passport is Robert Adam Smith, than that is what you enter. Even in your daily life you are BOB Smith or your drivers liscense says something else.

 

And we use the date format Day-Month-Year. So be careful with that one as well.

[possum52]

11 hours ago, FAMILYCRUISEMAN said:

We are cruising from Australia to New Zealand and find we need to have an Australian visa. Has anyone gotten one and what is the process and the pricing? We are only going to be in Australia two days before the cruise.  We also want to know about the visa process for New Zealand. Any help would be appreciated. Thank you. 

As I assume you are travelling on a US passport for both Australia and New Zealand you will need an Electronc Travel Authority - Aus ETA and NZeTA. The Aus ETA can only be obtained via this app -

 

For Google Store - AustralianETA

Department of Home Affairs

 

For iPad and iPhone

AustralianETA 4+

 

Department of Home Affairs

 

 

NZeTA 

https://www.immigration.govt.nz/new-zealand-visas/visas/visa/nzeta

 

Can be obtained online at above link or on the app as detailed in same link.

ImNportant information about the ETAAll E

TA- p

 

by step guide.

 

 

 

 

assport holders must apply for an ETA using the Australian ETA app. For more information, see our Step

If you are unable to use the app, you can apply online through ImmiAccount for another visa that suits your needs.

[grnidlad8]

Question on the Australian ETA app...

Nowhere can I find if seflies are allowed while enrolling in the ETA.  Everything I see just says take a photo, assuming someone else is taking your photo.  When I google the specific topic, it says NO SELFIES are accepted. However, the Australian official website doesn't go into whether or not selfies are actually allowed.  

Has anyone taken a selfie and already arrived in Australia by doing so?  Any problems? 

[FAMILYCRUISEMAN]

We haven't been to Australia yet, we go in December.  However, when we obtained the ETA we used a selfie.  First thing you have to do is download the app.  Then it walks you through the process.  When it gets to asking for picture, we each just took a selfie up close.  Hope that helps.

[CPT Trips]

On 7/27/2023 at 3:04 PM, grnidlad8 said:

Question on the Australian ETA app...

Nowhere can I find if seflies are allowed while enrolling in the ETA.  Everything I see just says take a photo, assuming someone else is taking your photo.  When I google the specific topic, it says NO SELFIES are accepted. However, the Australian official website doesn't go into whether or not selfies are actually allowed.  

Has anyone taken a selfie and already arrived in Australia by doing so?  Any problems? 

I applied and was approved over the weekend. It helps to have a steady hand and patience 😀
The app takes the photo for you when you have you face aligned properly. You don’t upload a photo that you took previously. You can do a selfie, that’s how the app opened my camera, or you can switch to the main camera. The selfie mode was difficult for DW as she couldn’t get the camera far enough away. YMMV
You also need to use your phone’s camera to scan the info page of your passport. In addition, you need to use your phone to read the passport chip. Take your case off as the phone must be directly on the passport

[CPT Trips]

Check out this thread on Ports of Call . . . https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2903275-australia-visas/

 

Edited August 1, 2023 by CPT Trips

[photomikey]

On 7/27/2023 at 12:04 PM, grnidlad8 said:

Question on the Australian ETA app...

Nowhere can I find if seflies are allowed while enrolling in the ETA.  Everything I see just says take a photo, assuming someone else is taking your photo.  When I google the specific topic, it says NO SELFIES are accepted. However, the Australian official website doesn't go into whether or not selfies are actually allowed.  

Has anyone taken a selfie and already arrived in Australia by doing so?  Any problems? 

 

The photo you take appears to only be used to confirm that it's your passport, they don't use the photo for anything other than facial comparison.  

 

The alternate answer is, it makes you take the photo so tight that it's impossible to tell where your arm is, so it doesn't matter if it's a selfie or not.

[lbosarge]

On 7/27/2023 at 12:04 PM, grnidlad8 said:

Question on the Australian ETA app...

Nowhere can I find if seflies are allowed while enrolling in the ETA.  Everything I see just says take a photo, assuming someone else is taking your photo.  When I google the specific topic, it says NO SELFIES are accepted. However, the Australian official website doesn't go into whether or not selfies are actually allowed.  

Has anyone taken a selfie and already arrived in Australia by doing so?  Any problems? 

When applying you can either take a selfie or have some one take a picture using your phone. The process is very easy and I got my approval in less than 10 minutes.

Edited August 9, 2023 by lbosarge
Posted before I was finished.