Tourist Visa For New Caledonia

[Nane]

These cruise liners are big. The bigger the less rocking. I am very sensitive (cannot even be a passenger in a car... have to drive) and I was fine. Yes I was nervous before our cruise and did feel a little queasy one day when we were on the open sea, but a seasick tablet and glass of ginger-ale soon had me up on my feet again. Once you arrive in port the waters are still and there is no rocking. So don't let this fear stop anyone! Go and enjoy

[Fish]

I'll try this one! http://www.cruiseabo...rldwide-2473608

Wow..do you need someone to hold the sick bowl ?

[Bronwyn&Co]

Wow..do you need someone to hold the sick bowl ?

Haha can you imagine going on a cruise for almost 4 months?

Edited September 27, 2012 by Bronwyn&Co

[Fish]

Haha can you imagine going on a cruise for almost 4 months?

Have you seen those ships where you buy a cabin and live on-board permanently?

http://aboardtheworld.com/

[herby]

Hi Bronwyn

I'm prone to seasickness and I've been on three cruises - one of which was out to sea in the bad weather that reshaped some the Natal coast about 4 years ago - I felt a little grim during that particular episode (for a few hours) but not sick. The other cruises were a pleasure.

Most cruise ships have massive damping systems installed to stabilize the motion and unless you hit really severe weather, chances are you won't be affected - I'd say try it and see.

[Bronwyn&Co]

Thanks everyone Herby I hope you have a wonderful cruise! Please let us know how it goes.

[herby]

Hi all

I can now confirm that we did not need visas for a cruise stopping in New Caledonia - we had an awesome holiday and the only negative thing about the entire experience was the amount of weight I picked up.

For anyone considering a holiday, I highly recommend a cruise - in my opinion it is unbeatable in terms of value-for-money.

Regarding the visas - our South African passports were checked in the overseas passenger terminal in Sydney prior to boarding the Carnival Spirit - not stamped - no word was mentioned about any visas for the destinations (Vanuatu and New Caledonia.)

I was relatively confident, but a little nervous about the visa issue because of the following:

Firstly - a number of responses from the forum and the 'net at large, said we didn't need visas.

Secondly - we received an email from the cruise line confirming we didn't need visas for the destinations.

Offset against that was a clear statement on the French consulate's website stating that South African passport holders DO require a visa to New Caledonia - even if arriving on a cruise ship and departing on same cruise ship.

Additionally, the visa agency I called (at a cost of $8 for the call <grrr> ) also said we needed visas - even if going on a cruise ship.

New Caledonia was the problem point - Vanuatu has no visa requirements for South African passport holders

So - getting on the ship without incident was a good start.

Then I got a little worried when we got a note on the evening before arriving at Nouméa, requesting we present ourselves for a passport face-to-face check by New Caledonia immigration.

Apparently this is standard - a handful of passengers are randomly selected for passport checks before anyone is allowed to disembark. (the handful was almost exclusively non-Australian and allowed us to meet up with another South African couple we would probably never have met <grin>)

Anyway - this went off without a hitch - the French immigration officer checked our passports and nothing was said about any visa - no stamp either, just a visual inspection.

I suspect that the residency visa in our ZA passports (we have PR) affords us the same privileges as an Australian passport - i.e. no visa required for Australian citizens (and residents?) to New Caledonia.

Either that, or the cruise ship has a 'blanket visa' for all passengers - this was my first thought, however, the clear statement on the French consulate's website makes me think it's more likely that our residency status was the ticket.

Immigration officials at Sydney and at New Caledonia both checked the residency visa sticker in my passport - maybe they were just curious about what I had in there or maybe they were specifically looking for it.... ( I guess I could have asked, but I was a little nervous at the time)

Regarding the cruise - wow - the Carnival Spirit is big - 11 decks high, a 500m 'oval' jogging track on deck 10 and pizza, coffee, mixed-cordial, water, ice, ice-cream and frozen yoghurt available for free 24/7.

If you're on a budget, it is very easy to have a great time and pay nothing over your initial cabin cost.

Alcoholic drinks, items in the onboard shops, spa treatments etc... cost about the same as you would pay in any tourist area in Aus.

Ok, end of my essay - thanks for the input from everyone and I hope this helps someone else.

Edited January 3, 2013 by herby

[Odin]

Hello ! Im in a similar position now having booked for the Carnival spirit for next year September 2014. Its clear from all OFFICIAL parties that you DO need a visa for New Caledonia (even the Cruise liner has taken the easy option stating they can only go with what the French consulate) says BUT all logic and discussions on this forum points to us NOT needing a visa. We are in Adelaide so yes a schlep to fly to Sydney if its not really needed. We are also on a 475 State sponsored 3 year temporary visa so not even PR. Hopefully getting PR before the trip would help- would need to make a call if we get the Caledonia visa closer to the trip- looking forward to the trip !!!!!!!

[Fish]

Hello ! Im in a similar position now having booked for the Carnival spirit for next year September 2014. Its clear from all OFFICIAL parties that you DO need a visa for New Caledonia (even the Cruise liner has taken the easy option stating they can only go with what the French consulate) says BUT all logic and discussions on this forum points to us NOT needing a visa. We are in Adelaide so yes a schlep to fly to Sydney if its not really needed. We are also on a 475 State sponsored 3 year temporary visa so not even PR. Hopefully getting PR before the trip would help- would need to make a call if we get the Caledonia visa closer to the trip- looking forward to the trip !!!!!!!

If you are not an Australian citizen would you not be entering New Caledonia on a different passport...why would your Australian visa status (ie PR or not) matter or am I just being thick ?

Edited June 14, 2013 by Fish

[Odin]

Hi Fish, yes we have only RSA passports on a 475 temporary oz visa- report backs from others that have been on the cruise say that they think they were let through not requiring visas for Caledonia (French) because they had Oz PR.

[Fish]

Hi Fish, yes we have only RSA passports on a 475 temporary oz visa- report backs from others that have been on the cruise say that they think they were let through not requiring visas for Caledonia (French) because they had Oz PR.

I did a little digging. It looks like there may be an "IN TRANSIT" visa that specifically applies to cruise ships passengers visiting New Caledonia and leaving within 24 hours. It appears to cover everyone on board regardless of nationality.

Read this post from cruise critic:

DT1304, I assure you my advice is absolutely spot on. I am an Aussie citizen and have 3 kids, our Colombian freinds offered to have one of our kids in their room so that we did not have to book an extra cabin. Just 3 weeks before we were due to leave our freinds were informed they needed a visa for New Caledonia. This advice was given to them by incompetent P&O staff, and a website called Visalink and also the french consulate website. So they booked an appointment to apply for the visa via the french consulate website......you have to fill it in online and you are sent an automated reply with a date for them to attend.......now heres the problem, they filled in the form with a departure date of Feb 24 2012 and were given an appointment date of .....wait for it......13th March 2012. Do you see the problem there......it also states on the website that you are not to call as its all automated. We were actually all facing having to cancel our trip, so we went to the french consulate in Sydney and they refused to see us, saying we needed to follow procedure, then out of desperation we drove up to P&O head office in North Sydney and told them the situation and somebody actually bothered to look a bit deeper which is when they recited from their handbook, "ALL P&O PASSENGERS ARE COVERED BY P&O's IN TRANSIT VISA. AS LONG AS AN OVERNIGHT STAY IS NOT INVOLVED. IT IS ONLY APPLICABLE TO VESSELS ARRIVING BY SEA".

All it will cost you is the price of a phone call to P&O head office, we did not believe P&O either so they actually sent my Colombian freind an email confirming what they'd told us and that if there were any issues upon check in we should show them the email and just recite "P&O IN TRANSIT VISA" and then when i got back home, just to double check i rang P&O and asked if a Colombian would need a visa and sure enough after checking they said YES they do need a visa, then i asked them to look up IN TRANSIT VISA in their handbook and surprise surprise they dont actually need a visa....the P&O consultant actually thanked me as she'd learned something today.

Seriously mate its the best thing to do, if you do try and get an appointment just wait and see all of the info the French will ask of you....they are so pedantic, the list is HUGE, they will even want a letter from your employer stating that your wife is actually your wife......WHY !!!!

Just call P&O mate......good luck.......oh and by the way we and the Colombians just got back yesterday from a wonderful cruise on the Jewel to New Caledonia and the Islands, no problems at all with passports or visas.

OH also i will try to find the email that P&O sent and post it on here

And this one:

"I've been struggling with this very problem today. a few months back my wife and I booked tickets to the new Caledonia cruise. My wife only holds a philippines passport although has a Permanent Residency in australia.

with only 7 days left till our ship sails I started realising that we needed a visa for her.

over 3 hours researching and calling :

- visalink.com.au told me a visa is needed and that i should email or fax french consulate for getting a visa (it will take at least 2 weeks). I have emailed them...

- i called p & o twice and both times was told they will not give out visa information and should call visalink.

- customs australia told me to call IMMI

- IMMI hotline told me they can't help

- french consulate very rudely told me to check the website etc etc

at this point we were left with two options:

1) I go on the cruise and we spend our 5 year wedding anniversary apart and we lose out on her ticket

2) We both lose out on tickets and spend more money somewhere else for our special night.

I then found this forum...

I called back P & O and was very straight forward. I explained we simply don't have time left for a visa. I explained my displeasure with P & O at never once mentioning of the necessity of a visa or australian passport (and no mention in any terms or conditions) and that I'd heard of a "Transit Visa" was there anything that can be done?

I was told to please hold...The support staff came back after a few minutes and advised there was indeed a "Transit Visa" and we are fine with no visa in new caledonia if leaving within 24 hours. Hallelujah.

Based on the fact we have simply no choice we'll be rocking upto the port in Sydney and seeing how we go boarding. We have nothing to lose as there's no refund at this 11'th hour...

I hope that little anecdote may help someone else in the future. hours of perseverance can sometimes result in success i guess..."

All this advice is from 2012 and obviously just off the internet but maybe you can get through to the cruise line to confirm ?

Source: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1583824

Edited June 15, 2013 by Fish

[Odin]

wow thanks for all that info Fish !!! cheers mate !

[Duan]

Hi Odin,

How did your cruise go? Did you have any problems at clearing immigration? Did you go on your SA passport?

I'm in a similar "boat" now, we are booked to go on a cruise to New Caledonia on the 21Oct 2014 with Royal Caribbean, and after reading all these posts, I never worried to go through the ridiculous process of getting a visa from French Embassy in Sydney. I happened to meet a sales manager of Royal Caribbean two days ago, and he stressed that I will def need a visa to clear immigration!

Now I'm stressing again!!! The French embassy website do say: "Please note that if you remain aboard the vessel transiting through a French port arriving from one country and traveling to another country, you do not require a visa if you remain on board the vessel during the port of call."

Link: http://www.ambafrance-au.org/Visa-new-procedure-from-1st

So that gives me hope that I'm in my right to clear customs and board the ship and just chose not to go on the Island because I do not have a Visa.

Any feedback will be appreciated.

Kind regards,
Duan

Edited October 8, 2014 by Duan

[Fish]

Hi Odin,

How did your cruise go? Did you have any problems at clearing immigration? Did you go on your SA passport?

I'm in a similar "boat" now, we are booked to go on a cruise to New Caledonia on the 21Oct 2014 with Royal Caribbean, and after reading all these posts, I never worried to go through the ridiculous process of getting a visa from French Embassy in Sydney. I happened to meet a sales manager of Royal Caribbean two days ago, and he stressed that I will def need a visa to clear immigration!

Now I'm stressing again!!! The French embassy website do say: "Please note that if you remain aboard the vessel transiting through a French port arriving from one country and traveling to another country, you do not require a visa if you remain on board the vessel during the port of call."

Link: http://www.ambafrance-au.org/Visa-new-procedure-from-1st

So that gives me hope that I'm in my right to clear customs and board the ship and just chose not to go on the Island because I do not have a Visa.

Any feedback will be appreciated.

Kind regards,

Duan

I think that in transit advice from the embassy website relates to arriving by plane not ship. It seems cruises often have different in transit rules (ship considered in transit still if it leaves within 24-48 hours and passengers are allowed to disembark) but the embassy websites only put the plane rules on their website.

This thread has lots of advice but I guess it could be out of date: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/archive/index.php/t-1583824.html

That thread details an email someone received who was travelling to New Caledonia on a P&O cruises ship:

Dear Mr XXXXXX, We look forward to welcoming you on board the Pacific Jewel on the 24th of Febuaury 2012. In preparation of your cruise, please read the following in transit visa information.

For standard Pacific Island and New Zealand itineraries, all passport holders will not require a visa while they are in transit on the cruise. TRANSIT: When the ship is in "TRANSIT" it means that it will visit the port and leave without the cruise ending in that port. Passengers are then considered to be "in transit" so they will arrive with the ship and depart with the ship. Many countries have allowed cruise passengers to have an "in-transit" status therefore not needing any type of visa. Passengers do not need to remain onboard when in transit as long as they comply with the regulations of the country being visited. NOTE: The term "IN-TRANIST" here solely applies to Cruise Ships.

The term "IN-TRANSIT" used by Consulates/Embassies to describe a countries' entry visa requirements solely applies to passengers arriving/departing/transiting by airplane into the country. Rules and regulations for visa requirements between Airlines and Cruise Ships is different, so information provided by the Consulates may not necessarily apply to cruise ship passengers.

Once again, we look forward to welcoming you on board the Pacific Jewel for what promises to be a memorable cruise. if you have any questions regarding this information please contact our Sales & Service Department on the following number 13 24 94.

Yours sincerely,

P&O Cruises Australia.

Also: http://www.tripadvisor.com.au/ShowTopic-g1-i10703-k6753113-o10-Visa_for_P_O_cruise_to_New_Caledonia-Cruises.html

This Royal Caribbean document I found also seems to suggest you are considered in-transit in New Caledonia: http://www.tirun.com/cruises/terms/Travel%20Documents.pdf

French Polynesia: Visa required prior to departure.

New Caledonia: ‘In transit’ cruise guests do not require a visa prior departure

Edited October 8, 2014 by Fish

[Duan]

Hi Fish, Thanks for the reply. It seems like most people with a 457 and PR status for australia ends up just going and have no issue when they try to clear immigration when boarding a cruise out of australia on a south african passport to New Caledonia. As we have a four year 457 visa for Australia, leaving and re-entering the country on a cruise doesn't seems like there should be any problems, even though we are docking at a port at a country where we technically do need a visa to enter (by plane). I assume that Australian Immigration will clear us to board a Royal Caribbean cruise that hopefully covers us for a "in transit" privilege in New Caledonia.

My partner did managed to get this information today from Department of Immigration and Border Protection regarding our cruise:

From: Gabrielle WATSON [mailto:Gabrielle.WATSON@IMMI.gov.au]
Sent: Wednesday, October 08, 2014 12:42 PM
To: Delwin Best; Seaports
Subject: RE: Website Enquiry [DLM=For-Official-Use-Only]

For-Official-Use-Only

Hi Delwin

I can confirm that this voyage (number 20141021) has been approved for Round Trip Cruise status.

As I mentioned below, main difference between an RTC for passengers is that for Australia’s immigration purposes, travel on an RTC does not constitute a ‘departure’ from Australia, and passengers are not required to meet Australia’s immigration clearance requirements (although customs and quarantine checks still apply).

This can have an impact on visa holders in some circumstances - for example, holders of multiple-entry visitor visas with a maximum stay period of three months at a time are not able to ‘refresh’ the stay period on their visa by travelling on an RTC. It is also possible to travel on an RTC as the holder of a single-entry visa for Australia.

However, in your case, provided that your subclass 457 visa will remain in effect for the cruise duration, these types of issues are unlikely to apply – although please don’t hesitate to let me know if you have any particular concerns.

Further, the RTC status of the cruise does not make any difference to passengers being able to disembark in Noumea. Anyone wishing to do so, however, would need to meet the immigration requirement that Noumea has in place, e.g. travel document and visa requirements (as these wouldn’t be affected by the cruise being an RTC or not). I’m not able to confirm what these requirements are, however, your travel agent or cruise operator may be able to assist. Also, as I suggested below, you can refer to the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade's Smartraveller website at www.smartraveller.gov.au, or check with the Noumean authorities.

I hope this is helpful, but please feel free to contact me if you have any additional questions.

Cheers

Gabby

Gabrielle Watson

Traveller Policy Section
Border Security Policy Branch
Department of Immigration and Border Protection

[Joster]

Hi all! Is there an uodate on this topic? I'm desperate! We have PR and cruise is leaving 12 August from Sydney to New Caledonia. We don't have visas!