Ummm No...

ESTA (USA) is not a Visa

ETA (Australia) is a Visa

ENTRY / EXIT REQUIREMENTS FOR U.S. CITIZENS: You must have a valid U.S. passport and a visa to enter Australia. Most U.S. passport holders traveling to Australia for tourism or business purposes for less than 90 days can obtain an Electronic Travel Authority (ETA). The ETA is an electronic label-free visa and can be obtained at the ETA website for a small service fee. (Link)

Thanks; I would have been surprised if we just let foreigners in at will with never a visa requirement. Being an AU citizen I've never had the need to enquire.

Never know Nauru could become a FT destination for Americans ;)

The difference with ESTA and ETA with the fee's is that ESTA has a Processing fee + Tourism fee, where as the ETA charges for the Visa outright.

Part of the ESTA fee is only charged if you are denied, forget which half.

If my memory is still with me, I remember "Visa OK" being one of the other stamps used at LAX/SFO back in the days on flights to Australia.

ESTA, you still need a valid visa of some sort to enter, be it VWP on arrival, or applied for before hand.

ETA is a Visa to travel and enter.

But you can still be denied for any reason either way.

Australia screens everyone coming into Australia, unless you get the Side Door at Customs, so the chances of illegal items entering Australia is very low and the show Boarder Security is a good example of this.

No Beef Jerky you guys! ;)

There's a great strategy. Encourage United's race to the bottom.

I can confirm again that UA (CO) is no longer comping the Australia ETA Visa fee for 1Ks. :td::td::td:

How long are they valid for once issued?

The ETA is a 12 month multiple entry visa. You are allowed 3 months per entry.

But, I got an interesting e-mail yesterday from Global Entry (aka: U.S. Trusted Travelers). This is the 1K benefit that the newUA paid for.

Anyways, it appears we (that is US Global Entry peps) are are being given free access to equivalent program the Australians have, SmartGate:
http://www.customs.gov.au/site/page5831.asp

I have no idea if this does/doesn't have anything to do with this $20 fee mentioned in this thread, but it is kind of a cool benefit for free to enter Australia.

If UA tkts a trip to Australia on another carrier (TG/SQ/NZ) award or not an award, does not matter. Who do you call for the Visa? The ticketing carrier (UA) or operating carrier (TG, ETC).

Note you need a newer ePassport (with the chip in it) for that (SmartGate). Which the US didn't issue until late 2007, despite forcing other countries to add chips to their passports 2 years before that.

Needless to see my passport is almost a year pre-chip

It's unrelated to the $20 ETA, and it doesn't work as of last Friday in MEL.

I'm 4 years pre chip (8 months left before expiration) & wherever I use it they look like they don't want to accept it. It's worth getting a new passport w a chip even if you have 3-4 more years on your current pp

Actually I think they did double. Just renewed for $39. Still reasonable especially if one makes multiple trips a year.

See Guy Betsy's very generous offer re: the ETA Visa.

Not true, Australia uses a universal visa system meaning there's no "visa free" access for any non-citizen (see here for an explanation). Even citizens of New Zealand, who can live and work in Australia indefinitely with no special permission are actually granted a visa at the border (and they are the only nationality entitled to apply for a visa on arrival).

• Electronic Travel Authority is legally considered a visa (subclass 956, 976 or 977 depending on whether issued for tourism or business) but has a streamlined application process and is issued electronically.
• eVisitor (subclass 651) is a no-fee electronic visa for EU passport holders (reciprocity agreement).
• Special Category Visa (subclass 444) is issued to eligible New Zealand citizens at the border.

On the other hand, the United States' Electronic System for Travel Authorization is not a visa, but a pre-departure security clearance that is required as a condition of the VWP.