vi) ETA - (Electronic Travel Authority)
Please note, that we required Visa to enter Australia as implemented by the Immigration of Australia. Visa or to be exact ETA (Electronic Travel Authority) provides authorisation to enter Australia and electronically linked to your passport. ETA can be applied online via Australia Immigration Website www.eta.immi.gov.au/ETA/etas.jsp however limited to the passport holder of these selected countries only; Hong Kong, Canada, Japan,Malaysia, Republic of Korea, Singapore, Taiwan and United States. For those not in the list, they might be eligible to apply ETA through Travel Agents, Airlines or visit Australian Visa Office. Service fee for applying online is AUD20/person.
You can enter Australia as many times as you want during a Twelve (12) Months Period from the date the ETA is granted or until the expiry date of your passport, whichever is earlier. Each visit maximum stay is Three (3) Months.
Ok I want to share some info with uolss here. Come closer, read carefully....
I found out that we can actually get cheaper ETA fee from travel agent as low as RM20/person!
Ok betulkan mata anda if U can't see the difference. Just now I mentioned if booked online the fee is AUD20 (RM60), but booking through local agent is only RM20. Berapa banyak punya jimat especially if you travel with big group right? 😂😂
Basically there are lots of travel agent who provide this service. Most of them are good and reliable. I also collected a few contacts and the person who replied to me first was En. Akmal from Wiya Travel Tours. So far dealing with him was satisfactory. Just wassup to him and he will advise what is the documents required.
Step by step processes to apply ETA
1. Whatsapp to Akmal (Contact No :+6012 5846242, Email : wiyatravel@gmail.com). You may clarify anything you want to know.
2. He will reply and required for details of person to apply for ETA. (Name, Contact, Address and Copy of passports).
3. Email to him all above to the given email address.
4. Once ETA approved (within 24 hours), he will email to us the ETA. Check if there is any error
5. Finally make payment to the account given and attached the receipt of transaction as proof of payment.
6. The ETA will be automatically linked to our passport, however it is advisable to print just in case because I heard sometimes there are problems occurred during the immigration checking (Name or other details on passport not tally with ETA, ETA not link etc). Better take early precaution right?
vii) Foods declaration
When we travel to non- muslim country, one main thing that came right on our mind is how to get a Halal food. I have mentioned in earlier post that it is not difficult to find Halal food in Sydney city. We can find either Indian or Arab restaurant however the price will be very expansive. Imagine hari2 makan restaurant, memang out of budget jadinya. So one of the solution is to bring instant foods from Malaysia. Easy to cook and cost saving also. However, please bear in mind that Australia is very proud of its "STRICTEST QUARANTINE LAW IN THE WORLD". We cannot simply bring any foods especially those that have reputation to spread diseases. This LINK will give you a good idea of what you can and can't bring into Australia. Basically you can't bring any meat or dairy products, any foods that contain egg, fruits, seeds and nuts including spices (cinnamon, clove, etc), cereal grains, popping corns and etc.
Meanwhile, foods that are allowed to bring are :
- Instant mee / porridge (Maggie, Mamee, etc)
- Canned sardine or tuna
- Dried sambal, Curry or tomyam paste (Brahims, Aliff, maggie, etc) and chicken cube
- Anchovies in packet, packeted spices (in powder form)
- Rice, bihun, spageti, etc (without egg contain)
- Nescafe / tea 3-in-1 (make sure non- dairy creamer)
- Formulated milk for baby or toddler
- Medicine as prescribed by doctor, aspirin and paracetamol/panadol.
Yes, you must declare for inspection all food, plant material and animal products on arrival in Australia to ensure they are free of pests and diseases. Fill up the Arrival Card (given by flight attendance before landed) and tick all items you wish to declare. You are far more likely to be able to keep your items if you declared them than if you don't and try to get away with it. In many cases, the goods you declared will be returned to you after inspection. Some items may require treatment to make them safe. Items that are prohibited because of the risk of pests and diseases will be seized and destroyed. Just try your luck as some of the customs are not very strict. Advisable to prepare a list of foods you bring in and separate all the foods in one pack for easy inspection.
We didn't bring any foods as we planned to buy the groceries there (for me it is better to buy items like bread, egg, rice at the local supermarket as it is not so expansive), so we didn't declared anything. Except Lina who had to declare for the formulated milk. Not so strict though, like I said depends on luck.
viii) Money Changer
Last but not least, once you have made all the preparation above.. you can estimate how much expenses that you wanted to spent there. Australia is using Australian Dollar currency and the conversion I got that time was around 1AUD = RM3. So don't forget to convert you money adequately depends on your budget. For those who are not shopping much like me maybe no need to bring so much money. Anyhow, it depends on individual. Kali ni tepuk dada tanya poket la pulak ok. 😄😄
So with all pre-departure preparations completed, I presented to you... My story on the Trip to Sydney, but of course in NEXT post. Till then.... da..!!
You may read other topics on preparation to Sydney and TOTAL EXPENSES here :
Preparation 1 – Flight Tickets & What to Wear
Preparation 2 - Itinerary & Accommodation
Preparation 3 - Car Rental
TOTAL EXPENSES
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