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Unit OT 18-35, Level 18, Central Park Towers, Dubai International Financial Centre, Dubai, P.O. Box 18006, United Arab Emirates
16200 Central Green Blvd
GAC Regional Office, Asia Pacific 78 Shenton Way, #29-01
Group Vice President, Asia Pacific & Indian Subcontinent
Unit OT 18-35, Level 18, Central Park Towers, Dubai International Financial Centre, Dubai, P.O. Box 18006, United Arab Emirates
Unit OT 18-35, Level 18, Central Park Towers, Dubai International Financial Centre, Dubai, P.O. Box 18006, United Arab Emirates
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22 Aug 2022 / Australia
Australia’s Offshore Biometric Collection Program commenced in the Philippines on 4 April 2022. Since that time, residents of the Philippines, regardless of nationality, have been required to have their biometrics collected as part of their visa application when applying for most Australian visas. This includes clients who are not in the Philippines at the time their application is lodged.
From 10 October 2022, the requirement to provide biometrics is being extended to those persons who apply for a Transit (subclass 771) visa. This will include holders of a Maritime Crew (subclass 988) visa (MCV) applying for a Transit visa to fly to Australia to join their ship. The MCV is not included in the OBCP at this time.
Transit visas cannot be granted until any request for biometric and all other visa criteria has been satisfied. Applications should be made as early as possible to allow for the visa to be processed in time for the expected travel. In addition to the standard visa processing arrangements, applicants must also allow enough time before their intended travel time to attend their nearest biometrics collection centre, either in the Philippines or elsewhere in the world, when lodging their applications.
Requests for extensions of time, or any other issues related to the collection of an applicant’s biometric, should be made through the ImmiAccount used to lodge the application.
Non-Australian citizens cannot travel to Australia without an appropriate visa and may need to change their travel plans if they do not obtain the right visa in time.
Biometrics can be provided at Australian Biometric Collection Centres (ABCC) located in Manila and Cebu, operated by Australia’s regional service delivery partner, VFS Global…
…For more information on Australia’s Offshore Biometric Collection Program, including the full list of impacted visas and countries, can be found at Biometrics (homeaffairs.gov.au)
Use of Visitors Visas for facilitating crew changes: The Department of Home Affairs are no longer prioritising processing of Visitor visas to support crew changes in Australia…
…During the COVID-19 pandemic, maritime crew arriving in Australia to join their ships used Visitor visas to cover the periods of quarantine that they may have needed to undertake. As the travel exemption and quarantine requirements have now ended, crew who hold a Maritime Crew (MCV) visa should return to using a Transit (Subclass 771) visa to join their ship where appropriate…
(For further details and information about operations in Australia, contact GAC Australia at [email protected])
Source: Extract from Australian Department of Home Affairs update dated 22 August 2022