Electronic Travel Authority System (ETAS) – changes from 21 April 2008

If your thinking of going out to Australia on a Rekkie or similar prior to getting your Australian Perminant residency visa, then it may be useful for you to know about some changes that are going to be implemented to the ETA System from the 21st of April 2008.

An ETA is effectively a temporary visa, however the ETA’s are issued electronically so there is no stamp or label in your passport and there is no need for you to visit an Australian diplomatic office to submit an application.

The Australian Immigration department is going to continue to process most ETA applications instantly; however (and this is the important bit) in a small number of cases, some additional processing will be required.

If your ETA cannot be issued immediately you are requested to check back in 12 hours to confirm whether your application has been successful.

As an ETA is valid for three months, I’d suggest that you allow plenty of time before visiting Australia to allow sufficient time for your application to be processed.

You can apply for your ETA from the official Aussie Immigration site by Clicking Here

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