subject: Traveling To Australia About To Get Easier [print this page] Australia Are you planning to travel to Australia this Spring? Then here is good news for you. Travelling to Australia will no longer be hard for everybody. Traveling to Australia and New Zealand will no longer be that hard and therefore each will be able to use electronic passport control and bypass queues for baggage screening from the end of this year.
After finishing the outline details for new streamlined Trans-Tasman, travel arrangement at a joint press conference in Canberra by the Prime Minister John Key and Australian Counterpart Kevin Rudd. Most of the Smart Gates or Electronic passport kiosks was installed at these Airports: Auckland Airport hall in December; Wellington; Christchurch Airports from Mid-Next year.
And some of the new kiosks were already being used by the New Zealand Airports as well, and passport holders are now able to use them as of now. Smart Gate, allows travellers aged over 18 to travel using an easy access of electronic passport that contains a biometric chip to be able to scan their own passports and use their facial biometrics technology to identify each traveller and go through the departure gates, without going through the immigration control.
This is only eligible for New Zealand and Australian traveller passport holders and that they must have one of the biometric passports issued since 2005. Aside from this, people who are travelling from Australia and arriving to New Zealand will no longer automatically have their baggage screened, under changes announced by MAF. This is in addition to the installed process for Australias electronic visa.
There is also a direct exit lane for low risk passengers and thus avoid too much screening on all luggage, while there will be a fine for bringing in risks goods into New Zealand, and the fee will double from around $400 if it is $200.
In addition, the officials are also exploring the possibility of using xray image transfer allowing bags to screen in one country at departure and images viewed by arrivals officials while the aircraft is still in the air.
Significant progress has been made since I met with Prime Minster Rudd in March and I'm pleased both countries will continue to work on further streamlining the travel experience for our people." Mr Key said he believed the changes could be achieved without sacrificing New Zealand's border security.
