Have you been living in the United States of America, and suddenly felt the need of seeing Australia? It’s possible that you might be going to Australia for a holiday trip. If not that, then probably some urgency would have called out to you. And even if not that, then probably some other reason, because of which you would be going to the island country. So, while you’d be out on your way to Australia, there are some things of which you must be aware. One of those things is a visa. The question is, will you need a visa for visiting Australia? We will have a look at the answer of the same.
Visa is a must
Well yes, as it turns out that all the people who are travelling from the states, to Australia, need to carry their valid passports and visas. However, if you are a businessperson travelling from the states, for purposes such as tourism and business, then you get some other facilities. Those facilities include an Electronic Travel Authority. An Electronic Travel Authority (ETA) is authorized by the Government of the United States of America, and basically, it acts a visa. A person who is flying to Australia for a period of less than three months, and is a foreign national, can get an ETA. It also enables the country, to which the foreign national is travelling, to track his arrival and departure.
In a nutshell, this Electronic Travel Authority can also be called a label-free visa, as it functions the same, as a visa.
More information can be found on the ETA website, and also, you can get yourself one from the same. This information was about carrying a visa. But apart from this, there is also some additional information.
ePassport
All of us are aware of the passports which are seen everywhere. But there is also a different category of the same, which is called ePassport. ePassport is known as a biometric passport, which comes with a chip inside it. The electronic chip contains all the information of the passport holder, and therefore, ePassport helps in recognizing the identity of the passport holder. ePassport helps in the authentication process. The main point is that a person carrying his passport, who is 16 years or older, travelling to Australia from the States, can use SmartGate. SmartGate is a border control system which is in control and operated by the Australian Border Force. An ePassport will help you in using SmartGate, and that there are no other expenses. You can find more information about the same, on the SmartGate website.
In conclusion, this sums up all the information about getting a visa and passport, for travelling to Australia. There are some other rules and regulations, which a person has to follow while he is travelling to Australia.
