Australia plans 'instant visa' system

Australia plans 'instant visa' system

JAKARTA (JP): Australia is to experiment with a new "instant visa" system later this year which will expedite entrance permits to the country, but its embassy here says it is still too early to say when it will be applied in Indonesia.

"At this point it is premature to speculate on whether or when the system might be adopted in Indonesia," Australian Embassy spokesperson Joanne Eyre told The Jakarta Post yesterday.

She explained that the system, dubbed Electronic Travel Authority (ETA), is scheduled to be tried in one of Australia's major tourist markets later this year.

These include Britain, Japan, Singapore and the United States. The policy change is an attempt to boost its US$9 billion-a-year tourism industry, according to Reuters.

Last year over 3.5 million tourists visited the country.

Under the new system, the issuance of visas will be delegated to travel agents and airlines. They will have access to a computer network which determines whether the applicant should be refused entry.

Those rejected will be directed to the resident Australian mission if they wish to pursue their visa application, while those accepted will be issued one by the travel agency or airline.

According to Reuters, the system will be applied to several Asian countries, including Hong Kong, Malaysia, South Korea, Taiwan and Indonesia, possibly as early as January 1997.

"This new technology will ensure the integrity of our visa system can be maintained and, at the same time, tourism to Australia further facilitated," Immigration Minister Nick Bolkus and Tourism Minister Michael Lee said in Canberra yesterday.(mds)