VISA required for visiting Australia?

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Forums › Finance and wealth management › VISA required for visiting Australia?

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meesham

973 posts

Ultimate Geek

#237629 21-Jul-2009 19:02

gehenna:
Don't joke with the customs officials, they have no soul.

That's so true, I'd never thought about it before but the Australian Customs/AQIS staff tend to be very grumpy unlike the NZ Customs/MAF staff who are generally pretty friendly. I'm Australian and travel back there quite a bit, it's easiest to just not take any food with you (and if you do, no honey or fresh food, same rules as NZ), and if you live in a rural area or recently visited a farm make sure you scrub your shoes before you go.

If you're heading to Perth and want any info just PM me, I lived there for the first 25 years of my life :)

NickiB

147 posts

Master Geek

Trusted

#237687 21-Jul-2009 21:55

Thank gehenna! and Mauricio too, for clarifying. I was talking about Oz specifically, I knew there was a form on the plane, but having never seen it I didn't know what it was called/for. Good to know for sure on the credit card front too, I didn't think that was an issue, chips aren't standard issue on credit cards yet.

In case anyone is travelling to US for first time (or first time this year), to clarify:

"New Zealanders travelling to the United States without a visa must obtain on-line authorisation to travel at least 72 hours before departure, under a new automated system, which becomes mandatory from 12 January 2009." go to: https://esta.cbp.dhs.gov/ to apply.

nOOb alert

Stathi

24 posts

Geek

#237697 21-Jul-2009 22:30

Actually there's talk between Rudd/Key Govts about finally treating a trip between Aust/NZ as domestic, they've been talking about this for years. Last mentioned back in March and if the pollies actually did anything about it could take 6 months for it to eventuate.

Regs

4066 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

Snowflake

#237709 21-Jul-2009 23:05

if you use your credit card or eftpos card to draw cash when you get to aus you end up getting slapped with a $5 overseas ATM fee and a currency conversion commission fee (typically). Its an even better idea to get a bunch of cash either here, or when you arrive and use that (but dont get mugged!)

Sales Engineer
Snowflake
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NickiB

147 posts

Master Geek

Trusted

#237742 22-Jul-2009 07:03

Regs: if you use your credit card or eftpos card to draw cash when you get to aus you end up getting slapped with a $5 overseas ATM fee and a currency conversion commission fee (typically). Its an even better idea to get a bunch of cash either here, or when you arrive and use that (but dont get mugged!)

I've been trying to figure out the best way to convert money too, I'm not to keen on withdrawing ALL my cash at once, but maybe some, then I was planning on paying everything with my credit card as I go. On top of the $7.50 fee (BNZ classic visa) you will also get charged interest from day 1 on cash withdrawals, so another thing to keep in mind. Either load up your credit card before you go, or use eftpos.

Anyone know the cheapest way to convert? I figured Visa was the easiest, but at 2.25% margin for the bank, that will add up. I was looking online and you can order through travelex online for free, but wondering what the other options are. Anyone know what the commission are if exchanging money in person at airport for eg?

nOOb alert

plas

455 posts

Ultimate Geek

#237781 22-Jul-2009 10:06

gtxboyracer: lol when i replied it had your original message - lol i didnt see the edited version until i refreshed the page.. ohh well.. thanks for all the replies :) BTW does having a 'non-chipped' passport make any difference? I still have a valid 10 year one, where-as the rest will be new ones.

The chipped ones just speed up the process. Instead of waiting in a queue to have your passport checked you walk up to a machine. Put your passport in, answer some questions on screen then walk to customs and the machine takes your picture.

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