When will Australia get modern entry procedures?

[opusman]

I went to Malaysia recently and was blown away by how quick and easy their passport gates are.

It really is kind of embarassing how clumsy our two step smart gates are (that's when they work at all), not to mention still having to fill out the silly paper form which no one actually looks at properly.

 

[jb747]

A couple of months after never.

 

[dtienloi]

smart gates should be rebranded “dumb gates”

 

[moa999]

Trial has been underway for almost 18months now mostly on flights from NZ to BNE and more recently SYR.

A five-year wait for Australia’s digital arrivals card?

That orange ‘incoming passenger card’ could still be with us for some time to come...

www.executivetraveller.com

 

[torks]

Trial has been underway for almost 18months now mostly on flights from NZ to BNE and more recently SYR.

A five-year wait for Australia’s digital arrivals card?

That orange ‘incoming passenger card’ could still be with us for some time to come...

www.executivetraveller.com

Cause Australia is so unique that we need to run a hugely long trial just to implement something which is being done in almost every other developed nation.

 

[kpro]

The thing is, we had a fully implemented digital arrivals immigration card previously which worked exactly like Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia etc. You went to a website before hand, filled out a form and received a QR code.

However, the link was poorly communicated. Then when you got on the plane you were asked to fill out a paper form again and then hand both that in and scan the QR code on exit through customs. The government then shelved the multi-million dollar system saying it was too confusing?

I'm not sure how this new system is any better. You now have to download every airlines app you travel on instead of going to a website. Great if you always fly a single airline.
What happens to the people who book cheapest flight of the day and don't have the airlines app? What if you hadn't checked in on the app?

 

[moa999]

While I don't mind something that can be implemented in other apps (and hopefully prefill details), you also really want something standalone - particularly for families and the like.

For foreign tourists it would be ideal to combine with ETA/ evisitor apps.

Of course all of that sounds like a licensed to print money for the IT consulting firms.

 

[Himeno]

Cause Australia is so unique that we need to run a hugely long trial just to implement something which is being done in almost every other developed nation.

Just like 40 years of debate and study's for a east coast fast train network.

 

[Forg]

Just like 40 years of debate and study's for a east coast fast train network.

Yeah, but that’s because it’s not anything near financially viable … if the Silver Emu happens it’ll be ‘cos it’s a huge costly election stunt.

 

[cambriamarsh]

Cause Australia is so unique that we need to run a hugely long trial just to implement something which is being done in almost every other developed nation.

Except the US

 

[serfty]

Except the US

I haven't filled out I94W on paper for nearly 2 decades (that content is inbuilt with your ESTA).

 

[MEL_Traveller]

I dunno… I actually prefer a paper card on arrival! That way I don’t have to remember to fill in anything digital, can just head out to the airport, and spend two minutes completing the form on the aircraft once I know what i’ve got with me… whether that was last-minute duty free on the way or on arrival, or whether I’ve brought food from the plane.

The entry gate system… I bypass most of the queues near disembarkation and head to the kiosks right near the exit. And the. straight out. I’ve spent less time queuing in australia than arriving in europe, the UK or the US. or anywhere like india or vietnam.

Overall… i don’t think it’s the worst arrival experience and can live with a couple minutes at the airport in exchange for opening an app, filling it out, ha being to make changes, and remembering to do it before even being allowed to check in in some cases.

 

[dajop]

The arrival card is simple and there’s usually plenty of time on the inbound flight to fill it out.

But on the flip side it would improve the experience for some:
- frequent travellers who could save their profile, so don’t have to fill out same info every time , and
- those who don’t speak English so well by having an online version in multiple languages. It is a legal declaration after all.

 

[Warragul]

The thing is, we had a fully implemented digital arrivals immigration card previously which worked exactly like Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia etc. You went to a website before hand, filled out a form and received a QR code.

However, the link was poorly communicated. Then when you got on the plane you were asked to fill out a paper form again and then hand both that in and scan the QR code on exit through customs. The government then shelved the multi-million dollar system saying it was too confusing?

I'm not sure how this new system is any better. You now have to download every airlines app you travel on instead of going to a website. Great if you always fly a single airline.
What happens to the people who book cheapest flight of the day and don't have the airlines app? What if you hadn't checked in on the app?

It didn't work a lot of the time, the acknowledgement that your submission has been lodged was quite often not received until we after you arrived.

A shining example of a multi national consulting and delivery company over- promising and under delivering. The contract was cancelled with not that much resistance from the supplier.

 

[Feech La Manna]

Except the US

Some airports in the US you dont even need to show your passport these days you look into a camera which detects who you are from your ETSA application photo and you keep on walking.

Much quicker and more efficient.

 

[MEL_Traveller]

The arrival card is simple and there’s usually plenty of time on the inbound flight to fill it out.

But on the flip side it would improve the experience for some:
- frequent travellers who could save their profile, so don’t have to fill out same info every time , and
- those who don’t speak English so well by having an online version in multiple languages. It is a legal declaration after all.

That is a good point! A pre-populated card would be handy! Just complete the customs/bio declaration.

 

[kpro]

It didn't work a lot of the time, the acknowledgement that your submission has been lodged was quite often not received until we after you arrived.

Hmm in my experience it worked fine the handful of times I had to use it.
It was no buggier then for example Indonesia where the auto complete couldn't find my hotel address, or Singapore where my friend claimed the OCR read their passport wrong causing them to need to fill the form out again at the border gate.

I also still don't see how every airline custom implementing the form into their own app will improve this. EG You'll have bugs in Korean Air's implementation which might look totally different to Air New Zealand's version which has different bugs. Every airline also now incurs a cost to build this in and maintain it.

 

[drron]

Well I have just been through the Indian departure process and was blown away by how easy Australian Immigration systems are.

 

[dajop]

Well I have just been through the Indian departure process and was blown away by how easy Australian Immigration systems are.

Haven't been through Indian departure process for about 2-3 years. But is struck me as relatively easy and straightforward*.

* compared to what it was 10 years earlier. OMG that was something else, IIRC you had to show your boarding pass to about half a dozen people between check in and stepping onto the plane. And passport to at least 3 of those, maybe more. Last time I flew out it was only about three people.

 

[Melburnian1]

I dunno… I actually prefer a paper card on arrival! That way I don’t have to remember to fill in anything digital, can just head out to the airport, and spend two minutes completing the form on the aircraft once I know what i’ve got with me… whether that was last-minute duty free on the way or on arrival, or whether I’ve brought food from the plane.

The entry gate system… I bypass most of the queues near disembarkation and head to the kiosks right near the exit. And the. straight out. I’ve spent less time queuing in australia than arriving in europe, the UK or the US. or anywhere like india or vietnam.

Overall… i don’t think it’s the worst arrival experience and can live with a couple minutes at the airport in exchange for opening an app, filling it out, ha being to make changes, and remembering to do it before even being allowed to check in in some cases.

On a recent SQ inbound flight, paper arrival forms were not handed out. I had to ask, and was given one after a few minutes. Did this mean most on the aircraft had to find a paper form once they alighted, and then fill it out? I carry a pen, but I bet many passengers do not.

I agree a paper form is less hassle than having to hope IT works properly overseas (or in Australia prior to departure where nations require electronic travel authorities). The UK system can be difficult to access and seems poorly designed, though I've no expertise in IT.

The major delay at SYD and MEL is invariably very slow luggage arrival on the carousel, and a slow queue for customs.

At LHR T4 on multiple occasions, despite having a logjam prior to its equivalent to SmartGates, I have been out of the airport in about 20-25 minutes typically, compared to up to an hour in SYD and MEL.

Similarly at MNL, T1 sees me out of the airport in 20 to 35 minutes depending on how many flights almost concurrently arrive. The MNL experience has improved in recent years, with further enhancements promised.

TPE recently was slower: about 50 minutes while BKK has been worst, at up to 80-90 minutes with lengthy, very slow moving queues for immigration.
SIN and to a slightly lesser extent AUH and MCT have been excellent.