The Maritime Crew Visa offered by Australia is a special category of visa that allows international crew members who are a part of any non-military ships to enter the country through the water routes. These eligible crew members who are a part of international voyages can apply for this visa. MCV Visa is of temporary nature that is granted for a maximum period of three years. The applicants must have signed a certified contract or subcontract permitting them to work on a ship at sea. This includes scientific personnel traveling on a research ship as well.
What are you allowed to do under this visa?
Subclass 988 visa allows you certain things to do during your stay in Australia. These are:
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Travel to and from Australia by sea as a crew member of a non-military ship
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Stay in Australia as long as you are a member of the ship given, the ship is not imported
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Perform as many duties as you are allowed to complete
What are you not supposed to do under this visa?
988 Maritime Crew Visa restricts visa holders to do certain things and take part in certain activities. These are:
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Enter the country via air routes while you are a holder of this visa
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Continue staying as a visitor, tourist, or permanent resident once your MCV visa application expired
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Partake in any offshore resource activities
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Undertake any indirect duties which have not been clearly stated as your responsibilities to be fulfilled as a crew member
Eligibility Criteria under this visa
Any candidate who wants to enter Australia under this visa must be eligible to apply on certain grounds. These are:
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Be outside Australia at the time of application
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Be a crew member of any vessel other than a military ship
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Meet the character and health requirements stated under this visa category
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You must not have any pending debts to be paid to the Australian government
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Should not possess any refusal application or canceled visa
Additional Details you should know
Besides the above-mentioned factors, there are certain things that a candidate must know.
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Healthcare benefits won't be a part of this visa
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The candidate must be outside Australia at the time of visa application
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The applicant can be onshore or offshore when the decision on the visa is yet to be received
Stay
Although a candidate is allowed to stay in Australia for 3 years with this visa, they must know that an extension for the same cannot be applied onshore. You must travel back to your native country and repeat the application process to get this visa granted more than once.
Application Fee
You can apply free of charge. There is no application fee for this visa. But this is not to be confused with no fee as the candidate will still need to pay for the medical examinations, police certifications, and other miscellaneous costs.
Processing Time
MCV Visa processing time is varied. In other words, the applications can be processed as quickly as one day or a maximum of 10 days.
This visa category is most suitable for crew members who want to get a visa granted on an urgent basis. It also favors most because of no application fee and fewer eligibility requirements to be met. You can contact Visa Walk to apply for this visa or any other visa for most countries. You can even avail a profile assessment and a free visa consultancy session with our experts by contacting us today.