[PUP] Australian Customs versus American Sailors

[Mike Maurice]

There is no dispute that the Australian Authorities are a pain to deal 
with. It's hard to tell exactly what was the cause of the Krogen owner's 
problems. He was apparently Canadian, that may have complicated things.

But, I suspect that the real trouble was as follows, and it is a very 
general one, not just Australian. As, one of my contacts at US Customs 
pointed out to me about a week ago.

Cruising Permits are not VISAS. The Visa may be harder to get and for 
the period of time needed than the Cruising Permit.

I loosely quote some material I saw. "Don't ever buy non refundable 
airline or other travel tickets until you have the stamped visa in your 
hands", and that the issued visa has the dates and privileges that you 
were expecting.

In the case of the Krogen owner, he might have fared much better if he 
had the visa issue taken care of before he got to Australia. The 
Australians seem to be especially touchy about you're wanting a visa or 
extension after you are already in the country.

There is probably more to this than reported.

Mike

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Capt. Mike Maurice
Beaverton Oregon(Near Portland)