Justtony

Hello all,

Thanks for your help in advance...

Question 1:
I am transiting from Bali back to the states through Perth and can't confirm whether I would need a transit visa (I'm staying <8hrs). Below site tells me I don't since I'm just transiting as long as I don't leave the airport transit lounge but I have no clue whether I will need to because I read that in Perth you may need to leave the terminal to get to another terminal which would require a visa. I am flying on Qantas from PERTH to NYC but I haven't booked my flight from Bali into PERTH yet; should I just do my best to book a flight that is in the same terminal as my International Qantas flight (Term4)?
https://www.homeaffairs.gov.au/lega/...ough-australia

Question 2:
I was looking to do the transit (subclass 771) application but because I'm in NY and the office is in washington DC i would have to mail this which I should have enough time since my trip is in 2 weeks but was wondering if this can be done online or do I really have to mail this to the embassy in DC?

jridge

The key piece of information is what is your nationality, i.e. What country issued your passport?

Mwenenzi

QF do not fly Perth NYC. They do fly PER-SYD/MEL/BNE-LAX-JFK, or via SYD-DFW-xxx with the last segment on AA.

So you will have an Au domestic flight and expect you will need a full visa.
If you are a USA citizen you can get a full visa on line for Au$20
https://www.eta.immi.gov.au/ETAS3/etas

What are your flights?
Changing domestic to international is 10 times easier at MEL than SYD. Or the Au domestic leg of LHR-PER-MEL QF10 international flight

Great Circle Mapper

I expect there are better - cheaper ways from Bali to NYC. Look at Asian airlines

number_6

You can fly PER-MELon QF10 as an international passenger and then connect to QF95 MEL-LAX (normally the same plane 787) staying airside in transit. I don't know if there are any flights DPS-PER which arrive in the same terminal as QF10 departs from (most arrive at a different terminal and you cannot stay in transit to make the transfer). The QF flights SIN-PER do arrive at the same terminal, so if you route DPS-SIN-PER-MEL-LAX-JFK you can stay in transit without visa all the way to LAX, but wouldn't flying DPS-HKG-JFK on CX be easier, faster and cheaper? Or lots of other alternatives.

CPMaverick

How does that work? Does everyone on QF10 go through exit immigration in PER? If not, I don't see how they can let you stay in the transit area in MEL. First I've heard of this flight so excuse my ignorance.

Mwenenzi

QF10 PER-MEL & QF9 MEL-PER go to/from the international terminals

QF10 LHR-PER-MEL & QF9 MEL-PER-LHR is new route with a B787 that replaced MEL-DXB-LHR with a A380

At times other domestic flights have gone via international terminals (D sticker).
A few years ago guys were doing SYD-MEL-SYD day runs on JQ B787 drinking & eating the ticket value in the international Flounges.

CPMaverick

So, how does the 'D' sticker work? Does it let you bypass immigration on both ends?

Or, are you just forced to 'leave' and 'enter' Australia with your passport?

Very strange....

Mwenenzi

Yes. D = domestic

The times I have done this did not travel with my passport. Just drivers licence.
I took a late QF SYD-MEL flight from T1 that was a continuation of HKG flight a few times.
https://www.qantas.com/nz/en/travel-...documents.html
Yes. Is a strange concept in todays security regime. Less now than 5-10-15 years ago, but the PER flight is a recent addition

CPMaverick

I'm struggling to imagine how that works, it seems so easy to get in a secure international transit area without properly 'leaving' Australia. But anyway, good to know, thanks.

number_6

They ere are the same security checks for D pax, so no impact on security. Also D pax are subject to customs inspection which can include being detained at the airport for hours This covers any transit-area handoffs of goods between international and D pax Not a strange concept at all and very handy, wish more countries did it (but they cannot be bothered). The origin of this in Oz is because airports were split between international and domestic operation (hence at Perth the original D and I terminals were miles apart, much worse than Sydney). On the MEL-PER-LHR flight it is pretty hard to buy MEL-PER tickets as QF prioritizes sales MEL-LHR, but there are some guaranteed minimum number of seats PER-LHR as part of QF deal to be given an international wing in the PER domestic terminal. That leads to MEL-PER open seats, highly desirable due to the quality of the product. .

CPMaverick

I understand security is not impacted. But couldn't you possibly, for example, buy a PER-MEL ticket, end up in MEL international terminal without having gone through exit immigration, and then leave the country on a separate ticket? Or, buy a domestic PER-MEL to use after arriving internationally, thereby bypassing the immigration somehow? I'm sure there is something in place to prevent this, but how do they do it exactly?

number_6

Short answer: passenger manifests on every flight departing Oz (and arriving) are validated using miracles of modern technology ... its quite bullet proof. You would be stopped when boarding. The other scenario of flying MEL-PER internationally has the pax arriving in PER as international pax without D sticker, and having to clear immigration and customs as not identified as domestic pax. They tend to err in the opposite direction (some domestic pax lose their D sticker and are put through immigration/customs for a few hours, even though computer says they are legit). One of the risks of flying "D" in Oz.