Australia and New Zealand Visa's for U.S. and Norwegian Citizen - What do we need?

[Longwood50]

We are traveling on the Majestic to both Australia and New Zealand.  I knew that visa's were required.  I saw that both Australia and New Zealand have a phone application that records your information, scans your passport and takes your picture.  I thought that was all that would be required.  

Today, I got this from my travel agent 

Please be advised that you or any traveling companions who are not U.S. or Canadian passport holders must verify proof of citizenship and visa requirements with the embassy, consulate or immigration office of the countries listed on your cruise itinerary.

 I am a U.S. citizen and she is from Norway.  I see that Norway is on the Visa Waiver list so I think that the same approval I got online would also be all that she would require.  

This statement that passengers not US or Canadian must verify proof of citinzenship and visa with the embassy is not very informative.  How would a person verify their citizenship and visa requirement if it was not simply by using their passport and the Visa approval from the online Application. 

For those of you who have cruised to Australia/New Zealand  can you tell me what exactly you were required to have. 

Thank You in advance 

[arxcards]

OK, as best as I can tell is this is a auto-generated jumble of cruise ship requirements.

 

If the ship departed the US/Canada on a round trip that visited Australia & New Zealand, a US/CAN citizen would not need a visa or visa waiver, as the ship would cover you for your days in port. The moment you disembark the ship, a visa or ETA is required.

 

It would be a pain for anyone doing a transpacific crossing, as the same visa needs would also apply to places like Tahiti and or Fiji or other islands. I presume you are flying out, then cruising.

 

When you have your passports and your visa waivers, as far as I can tell you are good to go. Do you have your ETA waivers yet?

[Longwood50]

33 minutes ago, arxcards said:

When you have your passports and your visa waivers, as far as I can tell you are good to go. Do you have your ETA waivers yet?

Yes, I applied on the Australian and New Zealand ETA application.  That is all I "thought" until I got the message from my travel agent about verification at the embassy for non-usa travelers.  I asked her what precisely I should do, however I did not get a response.  I know they are precluded from giving visa advise and as you say, they merely pass along links.  

 

[MikeD4134]

Why don't you contact the only people that matter, Australian and New Zealand Immagration.

[JeffroK]

MikeD has it spot on, talk to the people who matter.

Warning, we have a heap of pressure on our immigration department so answers may be slow.

[Aus Traveller]

6 hours ago, Longwood50 said:

Yes, I applied on the Australian and New Zealand ETA application.  That is all I "thought" until I got the message from my travel agent about verification at the embassy for non-usa travelers.  I asked her what precisely I should do, however I did not get a response.  I know they are precluded from giving visa advise and as you say, they merely pass along links.  

 

I suggest you ignore the advice from your travel agent. Their advice was probably based on the assumption that virtually all the passengers would be US/Canadian citizens and they didn't check which other nationalities are included in the visa waiver. In the past I have received incorrect visa information from travel agents.

 

If Norwegian citizens are included in the list of countries that are entitled to a visa waiver, that is probably all you need to know, however, (as has been suggested) you should check with the relevant Aust and NZ government websites.

 

 

[arxcards]

4 hours ago, Aus Traveller said:

I suggest you ignore the advice from your travel agent. Their advice was probably based on the assumption that virtually all the passengers would be US/Canadian citizens and they didn't check which other nationalities are included in the visa waiver. In the past I have received incorrect visa information from travel agents.

 

If Norwegian citizens are included in the list of countries that are entitled to a visa waiver, that is probably all you need to know, however, (as has been suggested) you should check with the relevant Aust and NZ government websites.

It isn't travel agent advice, but Princess advice forwarded by their travel agent. In most cases, the cruise lines cover their passengers for day visits - ie, Australians don't need to have a visa or waiver for our port days in Vanuatu, New Caledonia, Fiji etc, as the ship has an arrangement for their passengers -  but that might not extend to all nationalities. The $US Princess ships used to send us the same sort of visa info for a NZ cruise, and Australians don't even need a visa for NZ.

 

I agree with above though, and these new visa help posts are coming in day by day. Asking AUS/NZ cruisers for advice isn't the best anyway - we don't apply for them, a bit like us asking an American how to apply for a US ESTA. We do like to help, as there are passengers in panic mode waiting when manual checks need to be completed.

The official pages are:

https://immi.homeaffairs.gov.au/visas/getting-a-visa/visa-listing/electronic-travel-authority-601

https://www.immigration.govt.nz/new-zealand-visas/apply-for-a-visa

or contact your countries' embassy in Australia if you have difficulties.

 

My last advice, for any of these Australian visa topics - as soon as you can, get your ETA or Visa done. Yes, most ETA's are automatic and issued within a day or two. If there is something that needs to be manually checked, there are delays showing 3 months or more, so don't wait till cruise final payment to make your application(s).

Edited September 11, 2022 by arxcards
bad spellun

[possum52]

13 hours ago, Longwood50 said:

Yes, I applied on the Australian and New Zealand ETA application.  That is all I "thought" until I got the message from my travel agent about verification at the embassy for non-usa travelers.  I asked her what precisely I should do, however I did not get a response.  I know they are precluded from giving visa advise and as you say, they merely pass along links.  

 

As you have your ETAs and NZeTAs, you are good to go as according to the relevant websites, this is all you require.  

Australian ETA to Cruise        NZeTA to cruise

 

 

 

[Longwood50]

14 hours ago, MikeD4134 said:

Why don't you contact the only people that matter, Australian and New Zealand Immagration.

I can give that a try, but in my experience talking to a government office these days has about as much chance of succeeding as nailing jello to a wall.  You typically just get caught in voice prompt hell with recorded messages.  

[SinbadThePorter]

19 hours ago, Longwood50 said:

I am a U.S. citizen and she is from Norway.  I see that Norway is on the Visa Waiver list so I think that the same approval I got online would also be all that she would require.  

 

This is the case. It sounds as though Princess is covering its posterior by making a sweeping statement about countries outside of North America. North Korea may be a problem, but Denmark certainly is not.

 

If both of you have the ETA and the NZeTa that should be all you need.