Passports and visas
Below are some guidelines regarding countries where visa and permit requirements have recently changed, or otherwise have special stipulations concerning entry.
'Label-free visas' for Chinese Mainland passengers
The new arrangements approved by the Ministry of Public Security of the People’s Republic of China and the Australian Department of Immigration and Citizenship allow persons travelling to Australia on any Australian visa to travel without a physical visa label in their passports (i.e. “label-free visas”).
These following arrangements apply to Chinese and other nationals departing from in the People’s Republic of China:
If you are travelling from an airport in Chinese Mainland to Hong Kong (or any other international transit point) en route to Australia, it is strongly recommended that you ensure that the airline at your point of departure is able to issue your boarding pass to Australia. The Ministry of Public Security has advised that unless a passenger has a boarding pass for Australia, he/she will be unable to travel with a label-free visa. In this situation, you should request for a visa label with the relevant Australian authorities, or reconsider your route.
For more details of this new arrangement, please refer to the website of the Australian Embassy in China.
We hereby remind our passengers:
- You are highly recommended to book the whole journey on Cathay Pacific Airways operating flights if you are holding the above mentioned “Label-free visa”.
- At the airport, you should make sure all boarding passes have been issued to you during check-in, from the point of departure in Chinese Mainland to your final destination in Australia.
- If you need to make a stopover in Hong Kong during the outbound China journey, you should arrange for a visa label with the relevant Australian authorities.
Effective from Tuesday, 1 October 2019, some travellers are required to hold an NZeTA (New Zealand Electronic Travel Authority) before they leave for New Zealand. The NZeTA is a new border security measure being introduced by the New Zealand Government. The NZeTA does not replace a visa; travellers must still meet all existing entry requirements.
To ensure that travellers can proceed through all airport checkpoints, we advise passengers to plan accordingly and request a NZeTA well in advance of your trip to New Zealand, as it can take up to 72 hours for an NZeTA request to be processed.
Please note that travellers from visa waiver or transit visa waiver countries who are in transit through New Zealand are required to hold an NZeTA from 1 October 2019, even if New Zealand is not their final destination.
You are required to hold an NZeTA before travelling to New Zealand if you are:
- Travelling on a passport from a visa waiver country.
- An Australian permanent resident.
Please visit immigration.govt.nz/nzeta for more information and a list of visa waiver countries. An official mobile app is available for IOS and Android.
Passengers entering India are required to apply for their Indian visa online a minimum of four days in advance of their date of arrival. For more information and the latest list of nationals required for e-Tourist Visa (eTV), please visit Tourist Visa, Link opens in a new window operated by external parties and may not conform to the same accessibility policies as Cathay Pacific
Children under 18
The South African Department of Home Affairs requires all children under 18 years of age, travelling to or departing from South Africa, must have the documentation below. Children under 18 travelling as nationals of a foreign visa exempt country, accompanied by both or one parent or an adult other than a parent, are exempt from this requirement.
For updated information on documents required for travelling through South Africa, click here.
When travelling with BOTH parents
No addition documentation is required if the minor’s passport contains details of the parents. If the minor’s passport does not contains details of the parents, they will be required to carry an unabridged birth certificate / equivalent document (original or photocopy).
When travelling with ONE parent
- An unabridged birth certificate / equivalent document (original or photocopy)
- A copy of the passport or identification document of the absent parent
- Contact details of the absent parent
- A letter of parental consent or a court order granting full parental responsibilities to the present parent, or in the event that the other parent is deceased, a death certificate
When travelling with an adult other than a parent
- An unabridged birth certificate / equivalent document (original or copy)
- A letter of parental consent, adoption order, custody papers, guardianship papers or death certificate, as appropriate
- Copies of identification documents of the parents and/or legal guardians
- Contact details of parents or legal guardians and the persons where the minor will stay in South Africa
When travelling as an unaccompanied minor
- An unabridged birth certificate / equivalent document (original or copy
- A letter of parental consent from one or both parents or legal guardian, court order or death certificate, as appropriate
- Copies of identification documents or passport of one or both parents or legal guardians and the persons where the child will stay, including visa or residence permits (if required)
- Contact details of parents or legal guardians and the persons where the minor will stay in South Africa
Please note that the birth certificate must include the information about the children's parents. All documents issued in a language other than English must also be accompanied by a sworn translation into English. Failure to ensure these new requirements will result in passengers travelling to or departing from South Africa being denied travel.
The requirement mentioned above may not be applicable to a passenger remaining in transit, unless he/she requires a transit visa. The unabridged certificate should be submitted during the transit visa application process and both the certificate and visa should be carried on person whilst travelling.
EXEMPTIONS:
- No supporting documents will be required in the case of minors in direct transit at an International Airport.
- Minors in possession of valid South African visas shall not be required to produce the supporting documents when travelling through a port of entry of the Republic.
- South African children travelling on South African passport may travel to South Africa without birth certificates.
- In the case of countries that endorse the particulars of parents in children’s passports, or other official identification documents, these documents shall be acceptable for the purpose of establishing the identity of parents of the travelling minor. (Example: Indian passports record the parents’ names on the passport. In this instance, the requirement of an Unabridged Birth Certificate may be dispensed with.)
For more information, please contact:
South African Department of Home Affairs
Statement from Mkuseli Apleni, Director General Home Affairs, South Africa
Note:Third party websites are included for your information and reference only. Cathay Pacific Airways takes no responsibility for the content and accuracy of any such websites.
All leisure or business travellers to Sri Lanka are kindly reminded to obtain Electronic Travel Authorization (ETA) before entering the country. Please visit http://www.eta.gov.lk for more information.
Travellers from all countries will no longer require landing cards on arrival into the UK.
For a quicker way to cross the border, nationals of Australia, Canada, Japan, New Zealand, Singapore, South Korea and the United States of America are automatically eligible for e-Gate usage at all UK airports. Find out more here.
Passengers from certain countries are able to travel to Vietnam and stay for a limited period of time without a visa, the duration of which varies for citizens from different countries. If you are eligible for a Vietnam visa exemption but plan on staying longer than the allocated number of days, you will need to apply for a visa online.