Singaporeans stopped at Changi Airport due to no visa for Australia; lost S$8,000 in the process

“Being a Singaporean, I can honestly tell you, I took it for granted that the last thing we ever needed was a visa,” said an individual travelling to Australia but was stopped at Changi Airport due to incomplete requirements.

For one family travelling to Australia, their vacation turned into a costly mistake as this otherwise simple requirement was forgotten. “When life throws you a lemon, you make lemonade. In this case, this was a bit of a costly one,” said Facebook user Gary Tan, who claimed they were stopped at the Changi Airport check-in counter.

Mr Tan admitted they weren’t informed that they needed a visa to enter Australia. The group immediately applied for their ETA visas; however, only two out of five got approved, as the rest needed to submit more documents. In the end, they couldn’t make it to their flight.

“Upon checking my social circle, only three out of all my friends knew that we had to apply for a visa. And these three friends have been to Australia recently or frequently,” said Mr Tan.

He shared awareness to the public that an ETA visa is a must to enter Australia. He also expressed disappointment that their airlines should have sent an email informing passengers that Australia is strict on this requirement. Mr Tan noted they lost about S$8,000 in the process.

Despite having one of the most powerful passports in the world, Singaporeans still need to apply for an Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA) visa when travelling to certain countries. An ETA visa is an easy online process and is usually approved within minutes, compared to the stringent process of applying for a tourist visa.

Netizens responded to the incident by reminding travellers that it is their responsibility to check for visa and entry requirements.

“Always check the country that you visit needs a visa,” said a netizen. “Australia needs visas for all nationalities. How can someone going abroad don’t even check a travel visa in the first place? Don’t assume visa-free for all applies to Singapore passport,” said another Facebook user.

Singaporeans travelling abroad can check the following link for more information on visa requirements. /TISG

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