# Visa Stamping in Passport



## Chetendra (Mar 6, 2012)

Hi All,

I'm planning to reach Australia in the end of Feb 2012. While looking at various travel options, I just found out that some countries need Australian Visa stamped in our passport to pass through that country (even though you are just catching a connecting flight  ). 

I'm planning to travel to Melbourne through Malaysia or Singapore from Hyderabad / Chennai.

Can the experienced folks please share their experiences / memories regarding the travel WITHOUT VISA stamping.

I would also like to know if some one had any NOT SO MEMORABLE  experiences regarding the Visa NOT STAMPED in their passport while traveling to Australia through Malaysian or Singapore Airlines. 

Thanks for sharing your thoughts in advance. 

Regards,
Chetendra...


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## xubeynalym (Jul 9, 2012)

Chetendra said:


> Hi All,
> 
> I'm planning to reach Australia in the end of Feb 2012. While looking at various travel options, I just found out that some countries need Australian Visa stamped in our passport to pass through that country (even though you are just catching a connecting flight  ).
> 
> ...


I would recommend you to have visa label stamped on your passport. Its always good to have backup options with us.

xubeynalym


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## superm (Jul 1, 2012)

Am not sure about this.. you can refer to this doc - but this also does not confirm.

http://www.india.embassy.gov.au/fil...tions for india nepal and bhutan_06082012.pdf

Hopefully, we would not have to spend 4k (70$) for this label!


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## superm (Jul 1, 2012)

So chetendra.. How are you planning to about it?


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## nishaon (Jun 27, 2012)

Furthermore, can anyone please let us know what type of information does the VISA STICKER contain before activating the visa?
My concern is, is it better to get the visa stamped before the activation or after the activation?
Is there any difference in information?


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## Chetendra (Mar 6, 2012)

Yesterday, I had a call with the Malaysian Airlines center in Hyderabad and he said it is not an issues. On my insistence, he even verified my VISA status after providing my passport and Last name and confirmed that I can travel on any day. He said that my VISA details are reflecting online and there will be no issue in my travel.
I intend to confirm once again with the Australian Embassy In New Delhi though I'm pretty much sure that it will not be a problem with Malaysian Airlines...

Thanks,
Chetendra...


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## spin123 (Feb 23, 2012)

Chetendra said:


> Yesterday, I had a call with the Malaysian Airlines center in Hyderabad and he said it is not an issues. On my insistence, he even verified my VISA status after providing my passport and Last name and confirmed that I can travel on any day. He said that my VISA details are reflecting online and there will be no issue in my travel.
> I intend to confirm once again with the Australian Embassy In New Delhi though I'm pretty much sure that it will not be a problem with Malaysian Airlines...
> 
> Thanks,
> Chetendra...


So that means no need to have a visa label on your passport?


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## Chetendra (Mar 6, 2012)

Hi Spin123, 
First of all Congrats on receiving grant. I look at your time line and I'm amazed you got everything done in less than 1 year and that too without state sponsorship. Well done.

Regarding the Visa Stamping, I believe it all depends on the Airlines you were traveling. I read somewhere in this forum that in Dubai, you WILL be having issue and hence it is advisory to get Visa Stamped. I intend to travel through Malaysia Airlines and if they don't have any issue, then it should be fine. I also intent to make a call to Australian Embassy once before my travel. 
BTW, when are you planning to travel ? 
Regards,
Chetendra...


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## spin123 (Feb 23, 2012)

Chetendra said:


> Hi Spin123,
> First of all Congrats on receiving grant. I look at your time line and I'm amazed you got everything done in less than 1 year and that too without state sponsorship. Well done.
> 
> Regarding the Visa Stamping, I believe it all depends on the Airlines you were traveling. I read somewhere in this forum that in Dubai, you WILL be having issue and hence it is advisory to get Visa Stamped. I intend to travel through Malaysia Airlines and if they don't have any issue, then it should be fine. I also intent to make a call to Australian Embassy once before my travel.
> ...


Hi Thanks for the tips.

I'll also check with the Australian Embassy over here.

Well I haven't thought of traveling date as of yet


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## srivasu (Feb 29, 2012)

spin123 said:


> Hi Thanks for the tips.
> 
> I'll also check with the Australian Embassy over here.
> 
> Well I haven't thought of traveling date as of yet


We are traveling on 14th by Cathay Pacific and we do not have a visa stamp. Will let everyone know if we get detained or deported or if we reach successfully.


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## superm (Jul 1, 2012)

srivasu said:


> We are traveling on 14th by Cathay Pacific and we do not have a visa stamp. Will let everyone know if we get detained or deported or if we reach successfully.


Thanks man. Yours is connecting or direct flight, through which country. 
Also do you want for sure that if you are detained they would let you post on this forum? 
 hehe.. 
All will be well.. Tc.. Happy trip..


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## srivasu (Feb 29, 2012)

superm said:


> Thanks man. Yours is connecting or direct flight, through which country.
> Also do you want for sure that if you are detained they would let you post on this forum?
> hehe..
> All will be well.. Tc.. Happy trip..


Its via Hong Kong, I will call up Cathay Pacific folks to check their views on Visa stamping


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## spin123 (Feb 23, 2012)

srivasu said:


> We are traveling on 14th by Cathay Pacific and we do not have a visa stamp. Will let everyone know if we get detained or deported or if we reach successfully.


I sincerely hope you all don't get detained.... 

All the very best!!!!!!


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## ausmover (Oct 15, 2012)

*Anyone faced any issues in travelling without Visa label?*

Friends,

This query goes to all who have already reached Australia!! 

Did anyone face any issues at the Airports or Immigration desks while traveling from your native country to Australia on eVisa, that is, without a formal lable/stamp on your Passport? 

If yes, please let us know!! 

Thanks & Regards
Ausmover


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## ausmover (Oct 15, 2012)

*Visa labels not required. Grant letter sufficient!!*

Friends, All,

I can confirm now that we can travel to Australia without a Visa label stamp!! 

I just completed my short trip to Australia for validating my 189 Visa. 
My wife and I travelled from Mumbai to Melbourne (via Doha), purely on the basis of Grant Letter printout and no visa labels on our passports.

Only thing is that it takes around 4-5 minutes during Airline Check-in and first Immigration desk (at originating airport) as both Airline & Immigration officer verify the eVisa by checking their systems. So, it only takes a few extra minutes of time as compared to those who have got Visa labels stamped. Apart from that, faced no hassles at all and it was a smooth process at all immigration desks.

Please make sure you carry a printout of the Visa Grant letter. That is more than sufficient. 

Best Regards
Ausmover


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## Chetendra (Mar 6, 2012)

Thanks Ausmover,

That was really really helpful. Now I can peacefully travel to Australia without getting the AUS visa stamped in my passport.

I believe it would be really helpful if you can share with us what are the mandatory things which we are supposed to do once we are in Australia? 

I mean did u open up a bank account, Go to Medicare office etc ? 


Thanks for you info
Chetendra...


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## ausmover (Oct 15, 2012)

Chetendra said:


> Thanks Ausmover,
> 
> That was really really helpful. Now I can peacefully travel to Australia without getting the AUS visa stamped in my passport.
> 
> ...


Hi Chetendra,

It all depends on whether you are going to Australia for good (long term) or just for validating your PR.

If you are going there for long term, then applying for Bank Account & Medicare makes sense and must be done. Also, you can plan your accomodation in that case. Living in suburbs is cheaper, but travelling to city is expensive, whereas living in city area is expensive in terms of rent, but all company offices are at a walking distance.

However, if you are just going for a few days, or a couple of weeks with main aim to validate your PR and then come back to India, then nothing is needed really.

As I went there on a very short (5 days) stay, I mainly did sightseeing in Melbourne and noted down the offices of some potential employers (big organisations). I will be taking care of opening the bank account, medicare once I finally move to Australia later on.

Regards
Ausmover


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## spin123 (Feb 23, 2012)

ausmover said:


> Friends, All,
> 
> I can confirm now that we can travel to Australia without a Visa label stamp!!
> 
> ...


Thank you for sharing with us. Very useful information.


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## ozbound12 (Mar 23, 2012)

I wouldn't bother with medicare or bank accounts if you're only coming in for a short validation trip. Since you don't have a local address here, there would be nowhere for them to send the cards anyway.

As for the visa labels, all the major airlines that fly into Australia are aware of the electronic visa system and can check your status when you check in. In fact, we have visa labels and they still checked our status anyway (they are required to do so). When we arrived in Australia, they didn't even look at the visa label - they simply scan in the passport info page and all of the visa details pop up automatically.


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## PB_Aussie (Nov 28, 2012)

Hello Guys,

Can anyone confirm that apart from travelling to Aus for the first time, are there any other areas/processes which might require visa labelled? 

I am just putting up a list of events/processes after which I can confirm if I need the label or not. Ideally, someone who has already reached and gone through the initial settlement process can comment on this.

To be frank, its not a matter of money but more of an additional hassle that I would like to avaoid after waiting so long for the grant 

-PB


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## srivasu (Feb 29, 2012)

visa label is not required at inidian immigration and at hong kong, i can vouch for that  will update once we reach melbourne.


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## rinkesh.sawhney (Jan 30, 2012)

wow thats great!

guys couple of questions!
Are we allowed to carry cigarettes?
If yes, what is the limit thats allowed.
and at the immigration check do we have to pay for any duty?
If yes, how do they calculate the duty?


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## Janneeyrre (Jan 8, 2013)

Chetendra said:


> Hi All,
> 
> I'm planning to reach Australia in the end of Feb 2012. While looking at various travel options, I just found out that some countries need Australian Visa stamped in our passport to pass through that country (even though you are just catching a connecting flight  ).
> 
> ...


what would you do if 50% of them had a bad experience and 50% a good one?

If you don't follow the herd and want to be on the safe side, then spend $70, get a label and travel worry-free.


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## ozbound12 (Mar 23, 2012)

PB_Aussie said:


> Hello Guys,
> 
> Can anyone confirm that apart from travelling to Aus for the first time, are there any other areas/processes which might require visa labelled?
> 
> ...


As I mentioned in another visa label thread, you don't need the label but it can be useful for things like opening a mobile phone account, getting a credit card, renting an apartment, etc. However, the visa grant letter serves that purpose too. It's just mildly annoying to have to carry around both the passport and the letter. But I have never been asked for the label, ever, for any purpose. So it's really up to you if you want to get it or not. If it's a hassle to obtain the label in your country, you can wait until you arrive in Australia to get it. You just need to rock up to the nearest DIAC office.


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## Janneeyrre (Jan 8, 2013)

ozbound12 said:


> As I mentioned in another visa label thread, you don't need the label but it can be useful for things like opening a mobile phone account, getting a credit card, renting an apartment, etc. However, the visa grant letter serves that purpose too. It's just mildly annoying to have to carry around both the passport and the letter. But I have never been asked for the label, ever, for any purpose. So it's really up to you if you want to get it or not. If it's a hassle to obtain the label in your country, you can wait until you arrive in Australia to get it. You just need to rock up to the nearest DIAC office.


They are charging $70 to encourage the employers or other agencies to check the visa status online.


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## ozbound12 (Mar 23, 2012)

Janneeyrre said:


> They are charging $70 to encourage the employers or other agencies to check the visa status online.


No. They're charging $70 to discourage visa holders from obtaining visa labels BECAUSE employers and other agencies can check the status of a non-citizen online, which they have been able to do for awhile now.


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## sansantha (Jan 18, 2013)

hi ,

I am planning to move to adelaide next month february (PR visa), i have booked ticket in malasia airlines, as i have to catch a connecting flight to adelaide in malasia (kaula lumpur) , wanted to know whether the visa needs to be stampped on my passport before going through the malasia, 
Will there any check or problem in malasia airport if visa is not stampped , and as anyways i will be carrying the visa grant letter from australia.

thanks
sansantha.


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## srivasu (Feb 29, 2012)

srivasu said:


> visa label is not required at inidian immigration and at hong kong, i can vouch for that  will update once we reach melbourne.


no visa label checked anywhere -at india, honk kong, australia, medicare,bank


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## AJk (Jul 29, 2013)

Chetendra said:


> Hi All,
> 
> I'm planning to reach Australia in the end of Feb 2012. While looking at various travel options, I just found out that some countries need Australian Visa stamped in our passport to pass through that country (even though you are just catching a connecting flight  ).
> 
> ...


Hi chetan ...I have the same query, it's known that austrailian authorities don't require visa sticker ..but I'm not sure about Dubai and Singapore immig. Authorities, can any one confirm. Thanks.


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## Chetendra (Mar 6, 2012)

Hi AJk,

In general, no one asks for the VISA stamp (at least thats the case in India). To confirm the same, I called the Malaysian airlines office ( the airlines through which I would be traveling to AUS) in Hyderabad India to check the same. I told him that I don't have the AUS VISA stamped in my passport and I asked him if I can travel without the same. The employee confirmed the same. On my insisting, he checked the online system (at his terminal) and asked for my Visa Grant Number to check and confirm that I'm eligible for travel. So I too would suggest that you do the same. Pick up the office of the Airlines through which you are traveling and ask them to verify if you can travel to AUS without the VISA stamped. It worked for me. I would be glad if someone would share their not so happy experience while traveling to AUS without the VISA stamped in their passport.


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## AJk (Jul 29, 2013)

Thanks Chetan....very informative indeed.
Ive called and confirmed from singapore airlines as well..its OK for them.


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