Entry to Australia
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All persons arriving in Australia by sea on cruise ships and commercial vessels are subject to immigration clearance. This applies whether they disembark the vessel or remain onboard.
Before arrival in Australia
As a general rule, vessels are required to provide passenger and crew reports to Customs no later than 96 hours before arriving in Australia. These reports are available electronically from Customs.
See: Australian Customs and Border Protection Service
For international cruise ships electronic passenger and crew reports are also required to be transmitted through the department's Advance Passenger Processing (APP) system.
See: Advance Passenger Processing
Proclaimed port
All vessels arriving in Australia are required to enter at a proclaimed port for their first port of entry. Australia has 65 proclaimed ports. Customs may grant permission for a vessel to enter Australia at a place other than a proclaimed port under specified conditions. Contact Customs for more information on proclaimed ports.
Immigration clearance
On arrival all passengers and crew must hold a valid visa and present a valid passport. Passengers are also required to complete an Incoming Passenger Card. Customs officers undertake immigration clearance procedures on behalf of the department at Australian seaports.
Excised offshore places
Special legislation applies to the islands of Australia making them Excised Offshore Places (EOP). Australia's EOPs include Christmas Island, Ashmore and Cartier Islands, Cocos (Keeling) Islands, and all Australian islands across northern Australia from the vicinity of Exmouth to the vicinity of Mackay, including the islands of Torres Strait.
An EOP is part of the migration zone; however the excision legislation prevents any person who arrives in Australia on an EOP from making an application for a visa. Therefore, a person who is not an Australian citizen or an Australian Permanent Resident arriving at an EOP must hold a visa to be lawful in Australia as a visa cannot be granted on arrival, regardless of circumstances.
The legislation also prevents all New Zealand citizens from obtaining a Special Category Visa (SCV) and Permanent Residents of Norfolk Island from obtaining a Permanent Resident of Norfolk Island visa (PRNIV),as they usually would when arriving at mainland Australia. Therefore, all New Zealand citizens and permanent residents of Norfolk Island must obtain an appropriate visa if they intend to enter Australia at an Excised Offshore Place.
Note: Overseas visitors on yachts who visit ports at excised offshore places as their first point of entry into Australia and forget to obtain visas before arrival, will be regarded as offshore entry persons and barred from applying for visas in Australia.