Getting in and visas for Australia

Australia is completely surrounded by ocean: there is no way to travel overland to Australia. Hence, all international visitors arrive by plane or by boat. Almost all travellers will first travel to one of the state capitals, as these have all the major airports and many of the major ports.

Overland Tour

There are many expedition companies such as Ozbus that have organised trips from London To Sydney but the last leg of the journey involves flying to Darwin from East Timor while the bus is shipped across.

By plane

Approximately half of all international travellers arrive first in Australia in Sydney, the largest city, via Kingsford-Smith International Airport. Assuming direct flights to Sydney from various parts of the globe, travellers can expect a 3 hour flight from New Zealand, a 7-11 hour flight from countries in Asia, a 15 hour flight from the west of the United States of America and Canada, an 14 hour flight from Johannesburg, South Africa, a 13-16 hours flight from South America, and up to a 24+ hour flight from western Europe. On account of long journey times from some destinations, many travellers opt to book a stop-over in their flight in order to minimise the impact of jet lag and flight discomfort, commonly Singapore, Dubai, Bangkok or Kuala Lumpur. After Sydney, significant numbers of travellers also arrive first in Australia in Melbourne (Tullamarine Airport), Brisbane and Perth. Much smaller numbers arrive at international airports in Cairns, Adelaide, Darwin, the Gold Coast (Coolangatta), Norfolk Island, Newcastle, Broome and Christmas Island.

Customs and quarantine

Australia has a very strict customs requirement when it comes to animal and vegetable imports including wood, and other prohibited goods. This is because Australia is a large and isolated island, and thus far free of many diseases and insect pests found in other countries. All incoming visitors must pass a customs check for these items. No fruits, vegetables, meat or other food products are allowed in unless they are factory-made and on the approved list of imports (for example, chocolate is acceptable). There is no penalty for declaring most goods that are prohibited from import - they'll just be confiscated and destroyed or held in quarantine - but if you attempt to bring them in without declaring them, there are extremely heavy penalties including fines (in the order of thousands of dollars) and a possible jail term. It is far safer to declare any items that only might be prohibited, if they are not then you will suffer no consequence. The Australian Quarantine and Inspection Service website [1] has more details.

Visas and documentation

All foreigners except citizens of New Zealand require visas for all visits to Australia. The citizens of some countries, however, can obtain an Electronic Travel Authority (ETA), which is a tourist or business visa valid for up to three month stays, at one time, up to one year in duration, online [2]. These are often also available through travel agents at the time of booking your flight to Australia: apply for the ETA through your agent if possible, as the fee for applying directly is usually waived. Citizens of New Zealand may remain in Australia indefinitely without restrictions regardless of reason. If your purpose is to arrive in Australia looking for work you´ll see that Australia is a huge melting pot of culture, custom, personalities and beliefs.