Oceania (Australia, New Zealand & the South Pacific) - Australian Incoming Passenger Card - Question 11

I recently went to SYD, and question 11 on the card sparked my curiosity. It reads:

"Have you been in Africa, South/Central America or the Caribbean in the last 6 days?"

Does anyone know why this question is asked/what kind of flags it sets off?

Those are the endemic areas for Yellow Fever. If you had been to one of those countries in that time period, it is probable that immigration would have asked to see proof of vaccination before letting you in the country.

That, and I guess they are also high risk areas determined by AQIS, in terms on bringing back pests etc. harmful to Australian plants and wildlife.

It's not a big deal to tick it, but it probably also makes you more likely (if not certain) to have your baggage checked - also not a big deal if you've got nothing to hide/done nothing wrong.

That, and I guess they are also high risk areas determined by AQIS, in terms on bringing back pests etc. harmful to Australian plants and wildlife.

It's not a big deal to tick it, but it probably also makes you more likely (if not certain) to have your baggage checked - also not a big deal if you've got nothing to hide/done nothing wrong.

This question won't have any impact on your luggage being checked. It's completely Yellow Fever related. The real give-away is the "6 days", which is the normally accepted maximum time it takes for Yellow Fever symptoms to appear.

If you tick it they will ask what countries in those areas you've been in recently, and if it appears on the list of countries listed here (http://www.health.gov.au/internet/main/publishing.nsf/content/health-pubhlth-strateg-communic-factsheets-yellow.htm) then you will be asked to show proof of immunization against yellow fever.

(Caribbean is listed only due to Trinidad and Tobago, despite being shown under "South America & Central America" on that list)

Interesting, thanks!

And as a matter of good design of forms, it really ought to say why this question is being asked (imho). (Always tell people why you want to know something. There might be exceptions, but this isn't one of them, and you get more accurate information that way.)

And as a matter of good design of forms, it really ought to say why this question is being asked (imho).

The form has 11 questions. If they were to add reasons for each question it would be significantly larger, take longer to fill in, and potentially make people less likely to answer accurately ("Yellow fever? Oops, I forgot to have that injection - I'll just answer No!")

The form has 11 questions. If they were to add reasons for each question it would be significantly larger, take longer to fill in, and potentially make people less likely to answer accurately ("Yellow fever? Oops, I forgot to have that injection - I'll just answer No!")
But the purpose of the other questions is not hard for a person of normal intelligence to discern, whereas the purpose of the one about Africa, South America and the Caribbean is by no means obvious.

But the purpose of the other questions is not hard for a person of normal intelligence to discern, whereas the purpose of the one about Africa, South America and the Caribbean is by no means obvious.

I think you've giving people too much credit! Ever watched Border Security? People with suitcases of dried fish, seeds and nuts claiming that they don't have any food because, well, dried fish, seeds and nuts are not food!

I think you've giving people too much credit! Ever watched Border Security? People with suitcases of dried fish, seeds and nuts claiming that they don't have any food because, well, dried fish, seeds and nuts are not food!

Well, I did say I was talking about people of normal intelligence! :p

It's better to not specifically state the point of the questions, as long as they are clear. If you have been to these areas, then you should check the box. The reasons why are irrelevant (in terms of the form. Not saying it shouldn't be discussed)

They already know where you have been so just be honest and tick the box.

They already know where you have been so just be honest and tick the box.

Unless you've had the tracking chip removed from your neck! Then they have no idea!!!

:)

They already know where you have been so just be honest and tick the box.
wouldn't that depend on your intinerary? I recently had a trip to Colombia, and getting there is a PITA from Australia - if you were trying to save money at expense of convenience, the best options were booking return to USA, and separate tickets from USA to Colombia.

e.g. I had SYD-LAX-IAH-BOG-BGA. BGA-PTY-LAS-SFO-SYD; some teammates booked the IAH-BOG-BGA as a new booking with a different carrier.

wouldn't that depend on your intinerary? I recently had a trip to Colombia, and getting there is a PITA from Australia - if you were trying to save money at expense of convenience, the best options were booking return to USA, and separate tickets from USA to Colombia.

e.g. I had SYD-LAX-IAH-BOG-BGA. BGA-PTY-LAS-SFO-SYD; some teammates booked the IAH-BOG-BGA as a new booking with a different carrier.

Not really. Australian Immigration (who are the ones that actually ask to see your yellow fever certificate) can check your passport to see where you've been quite quickly. You'll either have a visa stamp in it or an electronic visa for every country you've visited, even if they were on different itineraries with different carriers. Very easy to check.

Not really. Australian Immigration (who are the ones that actually ask to see your yellow fever certificate) can check your passport to see where you've been quite quickly. You'll either have a visa stamp in it or an electronic visa for every country you've visited, even if they were on different itineraries with different carriers. Very easy to check.
Do all countries issue, or involve themselves with, "electronic visas"? Certainly not all countries stamp passports or require a visa for entry.

Additionally, a not insignificant number of Australian citizens are also citizens of another country, and as such they can legitimately use their non-Australian passport for travel that does not involve Australia.

Do all countries issue, or involve themselves with, "electronic visas"? Certainly not all countries stamp passports or require a visa for entry.

Additionally, a not insignificant number of Australian citizens are also citizens of another country, and as such they can legitimately use their non-Australian passport for travel that does not involve Australia.

Yes, I myself am a dual citizen and always use my British passport when travelling to South America for convenience. Presumably my Australian and UK passports are linked somewhere in the Australian immigration system, because they have requested to see my UK passport before when returning from Brazil...

And no, obviously not all countries involve themselves with electronic visas or stamp passports. However in all my travels, even to the far flung parts of the world, it's definitely been one of those, or a scan of your passport into a computer system. And I would have thought it was a reasonably safe assumption that these computer systems talk to each other in some capacity.

Not really. Australian Immigration (who are the ones that actually ask to see your yellow fever certificate) can check your passport to see where you've been quite quickly. You'll either have a visa stamp in it or an electronic visa for every country you've visited, even if they were on different itineraries with different carriers. Very easy to check.

I don't know about you, but my previous passport (replaced, as it was full) is around 30 pages of stamps, all with varying amounts of ink and thus varying amounts of readability. The time it would take to look through the entire passport and confirm where each stamp was from and whether it was in the past 6 days would be far from "quite quickly".

And that's ignoring people who have multiple passports (dual citizen), countries/regions that do not stamp passports (I'm currently in the Caribbean which is one of the listed regions on the question, but my passport doesn't show it), and countries that will stamp a piece of paper rather than your passport when asked.

Yes, I myself am a dual citizen and always use my British passport when travelling to South America for convenience. Presumably my Australian and UK passports are linked somewhere in the Australian immigration system, because they have requested to see my UK passport before when returning from Brazil. I have NEVER been asked for my UK passport when entering Australia on an Australian passport, in the 29 years I have held both passports.

Dave

I have NEVER been asked for my UK passport when entering Australia on an Australian passport, in the 29 years I have held both passports.

Dave

I'd been in Brazil for work (incoming card asks for country you spent most time in). They were flicking through my Australian passport looking for the visa stamp and it clearly wasn't in there, and they said "can we please see your other passport?". I don't know what the problem was, and it's only happened to me once. After that, I figured they were linked somehow in the system. Maybe not.