Hi
The cancelling of a CTA. With a tourist visa should not happen. that is mot to say it wont because it has happenned to me but a simple call to DIAC sorted it out and it did not happen again. As far as immigrations systems go the Crew Travel Authority is not strictly speaking a Visa like the many other available. it is a Special Purpose Visa (SPV) which is quite distinct from other visas. One key difference is that an application cannot be made for a SPV, rather, SPVs are taken to be ‘held’ if the person has a prescribed status under the Migration Regulations 1994.
Given SPVs are not applied for like standard visas, their presence in department systems is managed administratively through the Crew Travel Authority (CTA). The CTA allows airlines to register crew in advance with the Department for Immigration and Citizenship (DIAC) and the CTA record facilitates crew processing through the department and the Australian Customs and Border Protection Service systems, for example, at check-in through the Advance Passenger Processing (APP) system and on arrival to and departure from Australia.
In summary applying for and obtaining a tourist visa should not delete the administrative record held to supprt your CTA. The record on the system is just that, a record and you still need your airline ID card and letter on each occasion you wish to enter as crew. These are simple cross referenced to the administrative computer record.
Call immigration to confirm.
The Kelpie
Last edited by The Kelpie; 26th May 2013 at 23:11.