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About Australia (Travel Information) |
| Passport, Visas and other red tape | |
| Passports | |
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valid passport is required; it must be valid for longer than the period of
stay in Australia. Although it is not a requirement it is advisable to
have your passport valid for a period of three months after leaving
Australia.
Visas |
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| All visitors to Australia, except New Zealanders, require a visa or Electronic Travel Authority (ETA) to enter the country; if you’re heading overland, you’ll obviously need to check visa requirements for countries en route. You can get visa application forms from the Australian High Commissions, embassies or consulates or citizens of the US can get visa application forms from the Washington, Los Angeles and Ottawa offices and from the embassy Internet sites. | |
| Three-month
tourist visas (valid for multiple entry over one year) are issued free and
processed over the counter, providing all your documentation and other
details are in order, or are returned in three weeks by mail. However, a
new computerized system, Electronic Travel Authority (ETA) is speeding
things up and doing away with all the bother of filling in forms, queueing
or sending off passports for visits of up to three months: customers give
their details to airline or travel agents who transmit them to Australia,
with confirmation taking only a few minutes.
The ETA replaces the visa label in your passport. The system, begun in early 1997, is only available to nationals of the UK, Ireland, US, Canada, Malaysia, Singapore, Japan and several European and Scandinavian countries; you must also be flying on a major airline. If you think you might stay more than three months, it’s best to get the longer visa before departure, because once you get to Australia extensions cost A$145. Once issued, a visa usually allows multiple entries within twelve months so long as your passport is valid. An important condition for all holiday visa applications is that you have adequate funds both to support yourself during your stay – at least A$1000 a month – and eventually to get yourself home again. If you’re visiting immediate family who live in Australia – parent, spouse, child, brother or sister – you can apply for a Close Family Visa, which has fewer restrictions. Twelve-month working holiday visas are easily available to British, Irish, Canadian, Dutch, Japanese and Korean single people aged 18–25, though exceptions are made for people up to 30 and young married couples without children. It is not normally a chance to further your career, since the stress is on casual employment: you are meant to work for no more than three months at any one job. You must arrange the visa before you arrive in Australia, and several months in advance to avoid disappointment as numbers are sometimes capped. The working visas are £60 in the UK and CDN$150 in Canada; some travel agents such as Trailfinders in the UK can arrange them for you. Having a visa is not an absolute guarantee that you’ll be allowed into Australia – immigration officials may well check again that you have enough money to cover you during your stay, and that you have a return or onward ticket. In extreme cases they may refuse entry, or more likely restrict your visit to a shorter period. Vaccinations |
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| Vaccinations
are not required if you are travelling direct from the U.S. or Canada.
Health Certificates are not required unless you have come from an endemic
zone or a Yellow Fever, Smallpox, Cholera or Typhoid infected area. Your
local doctor or Health Department can advise you on vaccination
requirements, if any.
Customs |
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| Visitors
may bring their personal effects into Australia without paying duty, and
those over 18 years of age may include 250 cigarettes or 250 grams of
cigars or tobacco and 1 litre of alcoholic liquor, provided this is
carried with them. Dutiable goods up to the value of AUD$400 included in
personal baggage are exempt, the next AUD$160 at 20% and over this,
according to regulations. Strict regulations apply to all narcotics and
controlled substances. As Australia is free from many exotic insect pests
and diseases, the importation of fresh or packaged food, fruit,
vegetables, seeds, cultures, animals and plants or animal or plant
products is strictly controlled. Prohibited imports include furs, skins,
ivory and other items from animals and birds declared endangered species.
If you have any doubts when you arrive, please ask the uniformed
Quarantine staff in the Customs Hall.
DEPARTURE TAX |
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| No
tax is to be paid upon your departure from Australia since it has been
prepaid with your airline ticket. We will tell you how much it is at Quotation
Request.
Australian Embassies and Consulates |
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