Australian Embassy

Croatia

Embassy address: Kaptol Centar, 3rd Floor, Nova Ves 11, Zagreb - Telephone: 489 1200 - Fax: 489 1216

Maritime Crew Visa

In December 2005, the Australian Government announced the introduction of a Maritime Crew Visa (MCV) from 1 July 2007 for foreign crew of non-military ships.

Applications for the MCV will commence from 1 July 2007. There will be a 6 month transitional period until 31 December 2007. However, from 1 January 2008, the following requirements will be mandatory for the lawful arrival in Australia of foreign crew:
• crew must hold a valid national passport;
• crew must hold a Maritime Crew Visa granted against the same passport;
• there must be another document that establishes the crew member’s employment on the vessel (eg, crew list, articles, seaman’s book, contract).

A few points to note:
• MCV will only be valid for travel to Australia by sea as ships’ crew (MCV will not allow travel to Australia by air).
• MCV will be free of charge.
• MCV will be valid for 3 years from the date the visa is granted and will allow multiple entries by sea, as ship’s crew only, for the period the visa remains valid.
• MCV will only permit work associated with duties performed as crew with the vessel.

The MCV can be applied for on the Internet from 1 July 2007.

See: www.immi.gov.au/sea

Paper applications can also be downloaded but must be sent to the relevant processing office in Australia. Applications cannot be lodged in Zagreb.

See: Online applications for Maritime Crew Visa

Important: The MCV can be applied for on the internet from 1 July 2007 at www.immi.gov.au/sea. Paper applications can also be downloaded from www.immi.gov.au but must be sent to the relevant processing office in Australia. Applications cannot be lodged in Zagreb.

See: Maritime Crew Visa

Important: Operators of vessels seeking to remain in Australia and subject to Customs ‘entry/import’ must ensure foreign crew apply for and be granted (if they are eligible) another visa with work rights to remain on the vessel. The 457 Business Long Stay visa would typically be the visa against which such crew would be assessed.

For further information on visa types for ship’s crew, see Maritime Activities in Australia.