US Comes On-line for the ETA
Media Release - DPS 7/96
When Mrs Deborah Lynn Martin steps off the plane from Los Angeles at Sydney International Airport tomorrow, she will make a small slice of immigration history.
Mrs Martin will be the first passenger from the United States of America to be issued with an electronic visa through Australia's new on-line visa-issuing system, the Electronic Travel Authority (ETA).
To mark the occasion, she will be met off Air New Zealand flight NZ15 at 6.40am by representatives of the US Consulate in Sydney, and members of the Department of Immigration and Multicultural Affairs.
A spokesperson for the Department of Immigration and Multicultural Affairs said today the United States was the second country this month to be "switched-on" to the ETA. It follows Singapore, which came on line on 11 September, with the first ETA-cleared passenger arriving at Sydney on 13 September.
ETA enables passengers to "one-stop-travel-shop" - to arrange pre-clearance for entry to Australia through a travel agency or airline when making their travel arrangements, without having to apply separately for a visa.
To achieve this facility, the Department has linked its visa-checking electronic system to the same international network used by the agents to book the passenger's flight, accommodation and hire car. The system can issue the ETA through the agent in seconds.
The plan to introduce the ETA was a significant factor in the decision announced by US Secretary of State Warren Christopher during his visit to Australia recently to waive visa requirements for Australian citizens travelling to the US.
In the US, ETA has been opened in Los Angeles for American and Canadian citizens travelling to Sydney by Qantas and Air New Zealand. It will gradually be extended throughout the US and Canada as airline and reservations systems are enhanced to link with the Australian visa-checking data base.
The next country to come on-line will be Japan in November, when it will be available to the other airlines travelling from Japan.
Canberra, 26 September 1996
Media inquiries: Jenny Hoskin, DIMA (06) 264 2726