Buzzy--Bee

My BIL turned up at Heathrow last week to check in on his Qantas flight to Melbourne. He had got his ETA online, and although the ETA website says you don't need to do this, he had printed off the ETA page with the reference number confirming he had bought one.

So imagine his surprise when he checked in and Qantas said there was no record of him having an ETA and they were not going to let him board the plane!!! This despite the fact that he showed them the piece of paper with the receipt on it.

He was told he had to rush off to an internet facility on the airport and buy another ETA!

Who is responsible for this cock-up? DIMA or Qantas? And (should he bother for the $20) who should he go to for a refund??? Like he has any chance of getting one....

Anyone else heard of this occurrence?



Buzzy

flip

I am so old-fashioned, what's an ETA?

Buzzy--Bee

Electronic Travel Authority - visitors visa online.



Buzzy

sassie

Something similiar happened to my other half a couple of years ago with BA. Turned up for flight check in at Heathrow bound for Melbourne, and check in staff said they couldnt find any record of him having an ETA. Because he worked for BA at the time, the ETA was done through his work, and it turned out there was a typo on the spelling of his name, which is why they couldn't find it. It took about 45 minutes to sort out and it was touch or go whether we would make the flight. Thankfully everything turned out ok.

flip

That's better than I thought, I'd guessed you meant he had to buy another ticket. Very scary at the time for him though I guess.

sue and mick

Hi everyone

we are off to perth 31/1/07 to validate our visa do we need eta's we booked our flight through austravel and they said we did not need one as we will be aussie residents once our passports are stamped

sue

Buzzy--Bee

err yes that is correct.

ETAs are for short-term tourists.



Buzzy

OzTennis

One thing you definitely do after you get an ETA online is to go back to the site and enter the reference number you get when you apply - to prove it exists. Print this out so you have a hardcopy and write your passport number, date of birth and nationality on here as well.

http://www.eta.immi.gov.au/

If you have done it correctly and have a printout to prove it, there are only 4 reasons why it won't come up at the airport - if the incorrect passport number, date of birth, nationality or reference number is inputted at the check-in desk. If you have a problem make sure these 4 details are correct. I certainly wouldn't go and apply for another one if I'd already paid and proved it exists and some 'jobsworth' can't input the details correctly!

OzTennis

sue and mick

Thanks buzzy for your reply, but please excuse me having a dizzy blonde moment but we are only going for 3 weeks to validate our visa and then returning later in year for good so will we be classed as short term tourists on our validation trip so will need eta's and as there is 5 of us it will cost us 100 sqids, so just double checking, many thanks

sue

Teliko21

NO! Applying for an ETA will invalidate your other visas so do not get an ETA!

OzTennis

5 ETA's will cost $100 if you do it online for yourself, I have no doubt an agent or travel agent will charge you 100 squids or $250 for doing what you can do yourself in a jiffy.

http://www.eta.immi.gov.au/

OzTennis

Buzzy--Bee

What Teliko said.

You only need 1 sort of visa and by the sound of it you have 1 already.



Buzzy

sue and mick

thanks for that teliko21 you seem pretty sure about that so i think i wont be doing that .

many thanks


sue

Teliko21

Hehe yep I am absolutely positive about it You can only hold 1 type of visa for Oz at a time hence each time a new visa is granted it automatically invalidates the previous visa.

JAJ

Since 1 July 2002 an ETA can't legally take effect if another visa is held. But in general this is good advice, for example a regular tourist visa will cancel a permanent visa.