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72 hour rule?


Theodorable
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We arrive in Australia on Thursday, October 23, 2014. My flight home to Vancouver is at 10.45am on Sunday October 26. Do I need to get an Australian visa or do you think I just squeak into the 72 hour spot! I suppose it depends on either when the ship docks in Sydney...or when I actually get off the ship. Realistically I think I might be a few hours over!

 

Nicola

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  • 2 months later...
We arrive in Australia on Thursday, October 23, 2014. My flight home to Vancouver is at 10.45am on Sunday October 26. Do I need to get an Australian visa or do you think I just squeak into the 72 hour spot!
What 72 hour rule are you referring to?
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Checking on the Australian government website it looks like you are not eligible as you are overnighting outside of your entry and departure points, refer below:

 

Criteria

Eligible travellers must be able to meet the following criteria to be permitted to transit Australia without applying for a visa. Travellers must enter Australia by aircraft; and hold a confirmed onward booking to leave Australia to travel to a third country on the same or another aircraft within 8 hours of arrival in Australia; and hold documentation necessary to enter the country of destination; and not need to leave the airport transit lounge except to continue their journey.

 

Notes:

If passengers are required to pass through Immigration clearance and check-in to their onward flight, including managing their luggage, they will require a visa to enter Australia. An appropriate visa for this purpose will need to be applied for and granted before travelling to Australia.

 

There are limited transit facilities available at the Gold Coast airport (OLD).

 

Overnight stays are not permitted at Cairns (CNS) and Sydney (SYD) airports. Passengers transiting overnight will need an appropriate visa for Australia to leave the airport to access overnight accommodation.

 

Transit facilities at Adelaide airport (ADL) are only available for passengers arriving and departing on the same aircraft. However the transit lounge will be made available for other transit passengers if the airline provides advance notice.

 

You can apply for a Visa on line and there is no charge so I can't see a reason, unless you have a criminal record, that you wouldn't apply for one, I gather it is relatively easy to do. Just go to http://www.immi.gov.au/Visit/Pages/Visit.aspx

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You definitely do not qualify for no visa. If you read the criteria it is 8 hours max in transit (not leave airport) one plane to another within 8 hours . Cruise arrival to plane departure you need the visa . Most countries can apply on line .

Edited by kuldalai
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Do I need to get an Australian visa or do you think I just squeak into the 72 hour spot!
That 72 hr transit visa is interesting but think you will be over the time limit. http://www.immi.gov.au/Visas/Pages/771.aspx
The transit visa is still a visa, though - and it sounds like Theodorable was trying to avoid getting a visa.

 

Moreover, it requires a full-scale paper visa application, together with a requirement to post passports and additional photographs, and an additional envelope with return postage.

 

The form also requires specifying the arrival and departure details, and the application could be refused if the department spots that it's more than 72 hours. Then you'll have an Australian visa refusal on your record.

 

Or, if nobody spots it then, you'll have overstayed by the time you depart Australia. And if it's picked up at the exit immigration control (which Australia still has), then that could be a black mark on your record too.

 

And the form makes clear that this visa is intended for people whose principal purpose in entering Australia is to pass through Australia in transit to another country. It also says that where a "stopover" is intended, you should apply for the appropriate visa in a visitor class instead. It could be hard to convince the department that when you could easily get an ETA for your visit to Sydney, you're not actually really intending to visit Sydney at all but just passing through Australia. The very fact that you're applying for a transit visa rather than an ETA might raise eyebrows and cause questions to be raised.

 

I can't see why anyone would want to go through this whole rigmarole when (assuming that the OP is Canadian) they could easily and quickly get an ETA that is absolutely routine and would cause no issues whatsoever.

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I have a feeling that you think the transit visa is like a visa on arrival. It isn't, its something you need to apply for ahead of time and is actually more complicated and time consuming that just applying for the ETA, which if you have a Canadian passport you are eligible for. You also wouldn't be using it for its intended purpose, which would most likely get you in trouble when trying to apply for it.

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Hi Nicola:

That 72 hr transit visa is interesting but think you will be over the time limit. http://www.immi.gov.au/Visas/Pages/771.aspx

As you say it all depends on when you dock and leave. I know that will dock at 6:00 am…. J

 

Time doesn't even come into it. It's only for air passengers so it doesn't matter the time of docking, but the fact she is docking means she is not eligible.

Edited by The_Big_M
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As stated twice already on this thread the transit thing is for AIR TRAVELLERS only NOT leaving the Airport one plane to another . So NOT applicable to cruise arrival, and plane out .

 

Canadian Passport holders should just apply on line to Australia for the electronic visa for tourist purposes .

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Time doesn't even come into it. It's only for air passengers so it doesn't matter the time of docking, but the fact she is docking means she is not eligible.
As stated twice already on this thread the transit thing is for AIR TRAVELLERS only NOT leaving the Airport one plane to another. So NOT applicable to cruise arrival, and plane out.
That's correct for a direct airside transit without visa. But that's one of two separate things being discussed here.

 

It is not correct for the formal 72-hour transit visa. If you look at the application form, you'll see that it asks you for the flight number or ship's name for your arrival to Australia and for your departure from Australia. In theory, you might even be able to get a 72-hour transit visa to cover the transfer time between one ship and another ship.

 

But I still think (along with everyone else) that this is not the answer for the OP. A standard ETA would seem to be the correct thing to do.

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It is not correct for the formal 72-hour transit visa. If you look at the application form, you'll see that it asks you for the flight number or ship's name for your arrival to Australia and for your departure from Australia. In theory, you might even be able to get a 72-hour transit visa to cover the transfer time between one ship and another ship.

 

It still is correct.

 

As per the linked application form, they state that it is only permitted for transit, and not for stopovers within 72 hours.

 

They then add the explicit note that "Persons entering Australia to join a cruise ship as a passenger should apply for a visitor visa." The reverse direction would also be expected to be true.

 

The reference to a ship's name is that the form is designed to cater for crew where you're going to/coming from a ship.

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As per the linked application form, they state that it is only permitted for transit, and not for stopovers within 72 hours.

 

They then add the explicit note that "Persons entering Australia to join a cruise ship as a passenger should apply for a visitor visa." The reverse direction would also be expected to be true.

Whatever that note is intended to mean, it seems to me that the following is certainly not correct so far as the 771 visa is concerned:-
... the transit thing is for AIR TRAVELLERS only NOT leaving the Airport one plane to another.
The whole point of the 771 visa is that you can leave the airport and enter Australia and remain for up to 72 hours even if you are only in transit and not visiting.

 

I can't see any explicit restriction on using a 771 visa to transit between aircraft and ship, or ship and aircraft, or even between ship and ship - provided that you satisfy the principal purpose restriction. If it's in the underlying legislation, the form hasn't made that clear. I imagine that most cruise ship passengers thinking about using a 771 visa would actually be having a stopover in Australia (like the OP is doing), and wouldn't qualify for that reason - hence the advice to apply for a visitor visa.

 

At any rate, we're all agreed on what the OP should do!

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Thanks everyone for the advice. Rather than cause complications I used the Australian Govt website and bought visas for the 2 of us for Aus.$20 each. Way cheaper than through Celebrity website for $51 each!

 

Looking forward to our trip.

 

Nicola

Edited by Theodorable
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Thanks everyone for the advice. Rather than cause complications I used the Australian Govt website and bought visas for the 2 of us for Aus.$20 each. Way cheaper than through Celebrity website for $51 each!

 

Looking forward to our trip.

 

Nicola

That's good to know -- I'll check it out for us also. :)

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Hi Jen

 

Simple and very quick to go through the Govt. website. I was amazed at the third part websites who said they can save you time.....just out to take money off you.

 

Nic

Hi Nic: Princess is only charging $20 per person so I'll let them do it. Thanks. Jen

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