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VISA INFORMATION
INTERNATIONAL DELEGATE VISA
INFORMATION
Please note that all travellers to
Australia must have a valid visa before boarding
their plane. Travellers to Australia cannot
apply for a visa on arrival, with the
exception of New Zealand passport holders, who will
be visaed on arrival in Australia.
All international event
participants, (other than New Zealander passport
holders) should review the following information
carefully. There are currently two possible visa
options for adult event participants and the
appropriate visa to apply for will depend on their
country of passport.
IMPORTANT: It is
the policy of the Conference office NOT to supply an
invitation letter to unpaid or unregistered
delegates as it is NOT required and does NOT assist
in the visa application process. Upon payment of
registration, the delegate will receive a
confirmation letter of acceptance of registration
and receipt of payment. For NON ETA visa applicants,
a list of ALL paid registered delegates will be
forwarded to the Department of Immigration and
Multicultural and Indigenous Affairs (DIMIA) to
assist visa applications.
VISA TYPES
(1)The electronic short stay
validity Business visa (ETA 977)
Event participants with passports
from any of the following countries or locations can
apply for an Electronic Travel Authority (ETA):-
Andorra, Austria, Belgium, Brunei, Canada, Denmark,
Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hong Kong,
Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Liechtenstein,
Luxembourg, Malaysia, Malta, Monaco, The
Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Republic of San
Marino, Singapore, South Korea, Spain, Sweden,
Switzerland, Taiwan*, USA, United Kingdom - British
Citizen, United Kingdom - British National
(Overseas)**
Some event participants are eligible
to apply for an Electronic Travel Authority (ETA)
visa. The ETA is an electronic (invisible) visa that
can be applied for online and is usually issued the
same day. There is no Australian Government fee for
this electronic visa but the service provider does
charge a fee of AUD$20. The ETA can also be applied
for through many travel agencies and they may choose
to impose a fee to travellers, for this service.
* Taiwan passport holders can be
processed for an ETA only if resident in, and
applying from, Taiwan.
** UK passport holders whose
nationality is British National (Overseas) can be
processed for an ETA only if resident in, and
applying from, Hong Kong SAR.
***Please be aware that Taiwanese
passport holders and BNO passport holders cannot
apply for an ETA online. Such passport holders must
contact their closest visa office for information
about how to obtain their ETA.
You can apply for the short stay
validity Business visa online via the website:
www.eta.immi.gov.au
ETA visa holders are permitted to
attend an event (several) and to partake in general
tourism activities.
(2) The short stay validity
Business visa (subclass 456):
If you do not hold a passport from
one of the ETA eligible countries listed above, you
will need to apply for a short stay Business visa
(456) at the closest Australian visa office to their
current place of residence. If visa grant occurs, a
visa label is placed into the traveller's passport.
There is a fee of AUD$70 for 456 visa processing, to
be paid at the time of lodgement of the visa
application. Contact details for the appropriate
visa office closest to the applicant's place of
residence can be found at:
www.immi.gov.au/contacts/overseas.htm
The application for the subclass 456
visa (11 pages) can be downloaded from the DIMIA
website at:
www.immi.gov.au/allforms/pdf/456.pdf
Subclass 456 visa holders are
permitted to attend an event (or several) and to
partake in general tourism activities. Subclass 456
visa holders are also advised to note any visa
conditions, as may be stipulated on their visa
label.
VISA ASSISTANCE
To assist all subclass 456 visa
applicants, the Conference office will supply The
International Event Coordinator Network (IECN) of
the Department of Immigration and Multicultural and
Indigenous Affairs (DIMIA) the personal details and
registration payment confirmation of all registered
delegates. The IECN will notify the relevant
overseas posts and request facilitation of the
applicants' visa processing, if possible.
All subclass 456 visa applicants for
events should note that event registration does not
guarantee visa grant. In order to be granted a visa
to visit Australia, a subclass 456 visa applicant
must demonstrate that they meet all the legislative
requirements for visa grant, including meeting the
bona fide and character checks. Visa
processing is stringent and subclass 456 visa
applicants are advised, in the current global
situation, to apply for a visa well in advance (4 -
6 weeks) of their intended date of travel, if
possible.
IMPORTANT: It is
the policy of the Conference office NOT to supply an
invitation letter to unpaid or unregistered
delegates as it is NOT required and does NOT assist
in the visa application process. Upon payment of
registration, the delegate will receive a
confirmation letter of acceptance of registration
and receipt of payment. For NON ETA visa applicants,
a list of ALL paid registered delegates will be
forwarded to the Department of Immigration and
Multicultural and Indigenous Affairs (DIMIA) to
assist visa applications.
RELEVANT WEBSITES
DIMIA's INTERNET SITE:
www.immi.gov.au
Available on DIMIA's Internet
website is a wealth of helpful information about
Australian missions overseas, how to apply for visas
and further information on ETAs, Customs clearance,
Quarantine regulations, health issues, arrival and
departure and more.
World Index:
http://www.immi.gov.au/contacts/overseas.htm
The DIMIA World Index within the
website provides a list of all Australian missions
overseas by country and by city. The information is
regularly updated and includes:
- Information identifying the post where
residents of each country should lodge
applications for entry and where these
applications are processed and decided.
- Street and postal addresses, telephone and
facsimile numbers of each mission, the website
name and Internet e-mail address for each visa
office where applicable, and client counter and
telephone hours.
- An outline of any special procedures or
features relating to visa processing at each
mission.
- NB: If you plan to print the World Index,
please be advised it prints out to more than 93
A4-size pages.
ETA:
http://www.immi.gov.au/eta/
The Electronic Travel Authority site
provides comprehensive information on:
- What an ETA is
- How the ETA works
- The types of ETAs available and
- The benefits of using an ETA.
NB: Information on the ETA is also
provided at the World Index site described above.
An Australian Government Guide to
Visiting Australia:
- This site contains comprehensive information
about Customs clearance and Quarantine and
health issues, as well as visas. The information
is regularly updated.
- It also provides general information about
issues impacting on all visitors to Australia.
- The text is available in French, German,
Indonesian and Spanish, as well as English.
- This site also contains links to other
useful internet sites owned by e.g. the
Department of Health and Ageing (for more
information on health insurance for visitors to
Australia), and by the Customs (ACS) and
Quarantine (AQIS) services.
- The information at this site has been
jointly provided by DIMIA, DFAT, the Australian
Customs Service and the Australian Quarantine
and Inspection Service.
DIMIA highly recommends that
all intending visitors to Australia access its
www.immi.gov.au/visitors internet site |
