Why is the Australian ETA application fee cheaper on a 3rd party website?
I'm a Malaysian passport holder and I require an ETA (Electronic Travel Authority) to travel to Australia.
Upon googling "Australia ETA for Malaysian passport", the first link is for the Australian High Commission Malaysia - https://malaysia.highcommission.gov.au/klpr/ETA.html. This website provides a link to this homeaffairs.gov.au website where you can apply online: https://www.eta.homeaffairs.gov.au/ETAS3/etas. The application fee is listed here as AUD $20.
I assumed this was the only route for applying for an ETA. However, further information on the High Commission website states that you "can also apply for an ETA through a travel agent, airline or specialist service provider".
One such website I found (which appears on the first page of the Google search I did earlier) is https://www.australianvisa.com.my/. Here, the price for applying for a tourist ETA is listed as MYR 20 (which is approximately AUD $7).
My question is, how can a supposed '3rd party website' be cheaper than simply applying through the official Australian government website? Is it a scam?
Best Answer
There are 2 ways that an ETA application can be lodged - via the official Australian Government website, or via a travel agents GDS system (basically, the same system they use to book flights/etc).
When done via the official ETA website there is a fee of A$20 as you've stated.
When done via the GDS, there is no additional fee, other than the fees the agent has already paid to access the GDS.
As a result, third parties can submit ETA application for "free". In some cases, they will actually provide this as a free service (eg, a Travel agent might choose to do an ETA application for you after you booked flights with them), however more normally they will charge you something for their time.
ETA and similar "electronic visas" are certainly an area where scams abound, and there are countless websites out there that will advertise different prices than what they end up charging (eg, the $x they advertise doesn't include the actual ETA fee itself, which is only mentioned in the fine print when paying). Without first-hand knowledge it's impossible to say if the one you've linked to is legitimate or not, however for Australian ETA's it certainly is possible that they are legitimate and still charging less than the standard A$20.
Personally, I'd still be going via the official website rather than taking the risk to save a few dollars, but that's entirely your call.
Note that the Australian situation is relatively unique - most countries do NOT allow similar free application via the GDS systems, and thus you would not expect to find (for example) a website offering US ESTA application for less than the official government website.
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How much does it cost to apply for ETA Australia?
How much does an ETA cost? The government fee for the ETA is AUS$20. CIBTvisas's fee of $30 includes the government fee and CIBTvisas's service fee.Is ETA an online visa application for Australia?
The ETA Australia is an online electronic travel authority, similar to the United States ESTA, that allows visas for Australia to be issued electronically, eliminating the need to supply paper applications to an embassy.Is Australian ETA free?
As for the price, it's true that the Australia ETA is free. However, that's only on the official website because you have to wait for their availability to get the document ready. Plus, you'd have to get all the requirements they ask, which tend to be more time-consuming than the ones we previously mentioned.How do I pay my Australian visa application fee?
For applications lodged online: Payment of the Visa Application Charge must be made via ImmiAccount by card, PayPal or BPAY as you submit the application. Further information is available at https://www.homeaffairs.gov.au/trav/visa/fees/how-to-pay-for-an-application.AUSTRALIAN ETA APP/SUBCLASS 601 VISA. WHICH passport holders can apply for the ETA via the ETA APP?
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Answer 2
The "official" government web site is actually not run by the Australian Government. Rather, it is operated by SITA on the Australian Government's behalf. You can verify this by clicking on the "About this website" link on the front page, which takes you to this page, with this description:
This site was developed and is operated by SITA on behalf of the Department of Immigration and Border Protection (DIBP).
The service fee for an online ETA will be payable to third party provider. The charge on your credit card statement will be against iVisa Services.
As noted above, the AUD 20 fee goes to SITA, not the government. As travel agents already have access to (and pays for) the SITA network through their GDS, they can offer ETAs for free.
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