Time Limit for Foreign Ships in Australian Waters
Media Release - DPS 10/2003
The Department of Immigration and Multicultural and Indigenous Affairs has confirmed that it had introduced a three month limit on how long some foreign shipping crews can stay in Australian waters.
The Department said that the Minister for Immigration and Multicultural and Indigenous Affairs had issued in December last year a Ministerial Instrument clarifying the visa status of crew on foreign ships operating under coastal shipping permits in Australian waters.
The migration regulations require that a ship should depart Australia to a place outside Australia during the course of it's voyage.
As there was no established legal definition of what constitutes a voyage, the Instrument provides clarity and certainty to shipping operators. The Instrument clearly establishes a three month limit on how long foreign ships operating under the permit system can stay in Australian waters.
7 February 2003
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