US embassy cable - 05CANBERRA1118

UNCLAS CANBERRA 001118 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR CA/VO/F/P, CA/VO, AND CA/EX 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: CVIS, CPAS, CMGT, AS 
SUBJECT: NEW AUSTRALIAN VISA CATEGORY FOR AMERICANS 
 
 
1.  (U) A letter to the Charge' from the Australian 
Department of Immigration and Multicultural and Indigenous 
Affairs (DIMIA) Temporary Entry Branch Assistant Secretary 
Arja Keski-Nummi, announced that starting July 1, 2005, in 
addition to the Electronic Travel Authority (ETA), American 
citizens will be able to apply on the Internet, through the 
eVisa system, for a Tourist Visa (subclass 676) that will 
allow for stays in Australia for periods of up to twelve 
months. 
 
2.  (U) Michael O'Leary in DIMIA's Tourism Delivery Support 
office, informed Conoff on June 28 that DIMIA, in an effort 
to streamline business, was offering this new visa option to 
all ETA-eligible countries and regions, which includes the 
U.S., the UK, Canada, most of Western Europe, and a few Asian 
countries (a full list of ETA-eligible countries can be found 
at www.eta.immi.gov.au).  The GOA is also extending this 
option to other countries that already have access to the 
3-month online visa application:  the United Arab Emirates, 
Bahrain, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Macedonia, Hungary, 
Kuwait, Latvia, Lithuania, Oman, Poland, Qatar, Slovakia, and 
Slovenia.  O'Leary said DIMIA's aim was to eventually have as 
many products as possible available online. 
 
3.  (U) The 12-month Tourist Visa application will be more in 
depth than the ETA, with a longer form requiring more 
information.  Some applicants could be asked to attach online 
or mail in additional documentation.  A successful 
application will be visa-label free, meaning that no physical 
visa will be attached to the traveler's passport.  The cost 
of this 12-month visa application is $A65 ($US50). 
 
4.  (U) DIMIA has notified, Angus Pryor, its principal 
migration officer at the Australian Embassy in Washington, 
about the new visa class and the information will be 
available on DIMIA's website starting July 1.  O'Leary said 
DIMIA was very keen to promote the availability of this 
12-month visa and would pursue additional methods of outreach 
in the future. 
 
5.  (U) Considering these changes in visas for American 
citizens, post suggests that it may be the appropriate time 
to review the reciprocal fees for some visa categories, in 
particular B1/B2 (60 months), J, F, and M visas. 
 
STANTON