Tax Clearances and Entry

Permits are Off and On

In April there were two new documentation changes that affect the travel world—one good and one not so good. The first was the decision of the Australian Government to abolish taxation clearances for travellers. The other was the details of the process under which Commonwealth citizens will be allowed into the United Kingdom after July this year.

THE removal of the necessity to get a tax clearance before leaving Australia produced sighs of relief all round because this applied not only to Australians going overseas but to visitors as well.

The clearance was introduced in Australia about 30 years ago when an absconding financier managed to escape his tax obligations by bolting to New Zealand.

Other South Pacific countries fol lowed Australia’s lead—including New Zealand, Fiji and Papua-New Guinea—and it is to be hoped now that they, too, will see the light.

This tax affliction is peculiar to this part of the world. All countries have income tax but few make nui sances of themselves about it, and travellers can wander all over Europe, the UK, America and most parts of Asia without going through tax hoops of any sort.

For Australians tax clearances were quite a rigmarole; for visitors a formality but something that had to be attended to nonetheless.

Entry into UK After July citizens of British Com monwealth countries will no longer enjoy their former right of free entry into the United Kingdom.

This follows the passing of the controversial Commonwealth Immi grants Act in the UK last year.

Primarily it was designed to regulate

the flow of West Indians who have been flooding into England at the rate of about 60,000 per annum and some of whom have become a charge upon the Welfare State. (It is cal culated that there are currently in Britain about 40,000 coloured people who are completely unemployable.)

Pakistanis, Indians and West Africans are also pouring into the UK—a pretty odd comm entary on human nature. As the Colonies be come independent,

the more their citizens seem to want to leave home and live in England.

In order not to lay themselves open to a charge of making the restrictions on a racial basis, the UK has ex tended the Act to include all Com monwealth citizens Australians, Canadians, Rhodesians, New Zea landers, Fiji residents, etc.

The new restrictions have in furiated most Commonwealth citizens but particularly Australians who, nursing very tender feelings about the UK’s proposed entry into the Com mon Market just now, feel that the immigration restrictions are the last straw.

Up till now the UK has been a wonderful place to visit—no fuss, no questions, no forms to fill in, just buy your ticket and that was that.

Now, judging by some of the n paper comments, many feel that. tralia might as well secede from Commonwealth and be done wit This will pass, but it is a fact from now on, it will be less tro for a Commonwealth citizen to a Continental country than to Britain; and if the UK does join Common Market, it will be easiei a Continental citizen to go to the to work than for a New Zealand* an Australian.

Procedure: All Commonwealth citizens g to the UK should now apply either of two sorts of documents: an Entry Certificate; or (b) a V Voucher in categories A, B, or ( Entry Certificates are for tou: businessmen and students and a cation should be made to the High Commissioner, or approp official, in the country in which are living. It is possible to lam the UK without these Certificates travellers are advised to get ther avoid hold-up at the UK v immigration officers find out why are in the country and whether can maintain yourself there. 1 have the power to refuse your e or restrict your stay. Entry Ce cates are valid for 12 months.

Work Vouchers: Category A— people with a definite offer of ployment in the UK—this vou must be obtained in the UK by prospective employer and sent to employee before embarkation.

Category B.—For people special technical or professional s

—including versity gradu; nurses, engic skilled stei raphers, teacl Application these Vouc should go to 3 local UK I

Commissioner or equivalent off who will endorse and forward i the Ministry of Labour, London.

Category C Vouchers are for tl not possessing special skills qualifications. Application for tl must be made direct to The Mini of Labour, 26-28 Kings Street, I don, SWI.

All categories of Work Voucl are valid for six months.

Certain people are exempt fi having to obtain Work Voucl (such as Civil Servants), pers going for short term engagements less than two months (such as m cians and entertainers), Ministers Religion and holiday makers \ take short-term work incidental their holiday.

the "Pacific Islands Monthly" is a member of the Australian National Travel Association (ANTA) and the Pacific Area Travel Association (PATA), which are pledged to promote tourist travel in their areas.

t Round the

Fic in Luxury Plus

e Matson Lines of the Oceanic nship Company are now offering nprehensive round voyage in the ic that takes in a sample of y well everything this part of the 1 has to offer—with civilisation ch end in the way of San Fran , Los Angeles, Sydney and Auck e route of Matson’s big liners Dosa and Monterey out of ty now is as follows: iumea, New Caledonia; Suva, Niuafo’ou, Tonga (this is so- I Tin Can Island and the vessel tiangs off and on for an hour the mail is dropped in a sealed Pago Pago, American Samoa; lulu, Hawaii and San Francisco, •n, southbound, is from San :isco to Los Angeles; Bora Bora, :h Polynesia; Papeete, Tahiti; onga. Cook Islands; Auckland, md Sydney. Stop off privileges ; you wish. sse 20,000 ton liners carry un -00 passengers, all in first class, are air-conditioned throughout are equipped with gyro-stabil- For those who want to travel nerican-type luxury, this is it. ■es vary according to cabin, and rom £A622/15/- return for a ed, inside room to £1024/10/in outside, twin-bedded room, s rooms are from £1024/10/-, , to £1,227/10/- outside. All ith private bath, etc.

Amenities at )lk Island rfolk Island, only a few hours 1 few £’s away from either Syd- NSW, or Auckland, New Zea is making a bigger bid for ts. This island, midway between alia and New Zealand has much tract the visitor who wants a n amount of tranquility. It has cellent climate, an abundance of tropical produce, historical as ions and a growing number of t amenities. . lan Kenny, who with his wife started a Volkswagen mini-bus service in 1961, has now had a glass bottomed motor boat— c—built locally for the enter ent of visitors to Norfolk. ; boat will cruise in calm water mily and Slaughter Bays and :tions will be made of the coral

reef off Kingston. Although not as spectacular as coral in the real tropics, stag-horn, brain and flat corals are in abundance, and so are angel-fish and all the coloured small fry that live in the reef. Occasionally Norfolk Island’s own Rainbow Fish or P’ove shows up as a star per former. (This brightly coloured fish is soon to be featured on one of Nl’s new stamps.) Mystic will also be available for fishing trips and private charters.

Otherwise the owners will use her for “Coral Wonderland” cruises and for inclusive sea and land tours in con junction with their mini-bus. (AIR FARES from Sydney-Nor folk—£A49/10/- return; Auckland- Norfolk—NZ3s/11/- return.) More Pacific Cruises The P&O-Orient Company an nounced in mid-March that it would run two “Spring cruises” from Syd ney. In April three Christmas cruises were announced.

The first will be on the 28,790 tons Orsova which will make an eight-day cruise from Sydney, departing Sep tember 29.

Most of the eight days will be at sea, although there will be some in shore cruising off Lord Howe Island and off Tanna, in the Southern New Hebrides. Tanna has an active vol cano which occassionally puts on a display. After Tanna a call will be made at Noumea on October 3 and the homeward route will be close by Norfolk Island.

Cost of the cruise will be from £AS9 in tourist class; and from £AB2 in first class.

The second cruise will be longer and not confined so much to “just looking”—calls will be made at Hay man Island, Queensland Barrier Reef, Noumea, New Caledonia, Suva, Fiji, and Auckland, NZ. On the last leg of the voyage back to Sydney the vessel will sail close to Norfolk Island and Lord Howe.

The 28,000 ton Oronsay will make this cruise leaving Sydney on October 6 and returning on October 21.

Cost of this cruise is from £AIIS in tourist class; and £AIS6 in first class.

The Christmas cruises are as fol lows: The 42,000 tons liner Oriana leaves Sydney December 21 for a 14 day cruise to Suva, Fiji, Auckland and Picton, New Zealand; and Hobart, Tasmania, returning to Sydney on January 4. Oriana carries 572 first class passengers and 1,136 tourist; there are three swimming pools, a cinema, ball rooms, libraries, veran dah cafes, taverns, restaurants and modern cabin accommodation. She is

fully air-conditioned and stabilised against rolling. Fares for the cruise are from £AI6B, first class and £AIII, tourist.

The 24,000 tons Orion will leave Sydney on December 23 for a 12 days cruise to Port Chalmers, Lyttel ton, Picton and Pelorus Sound, New Zealand. Fares range from £AIO9, cabin class; and £ABB tourist class.

The third cruise is by Oronsay which will be away 12 days from Sydney and will call at Bay of Islands, NZ; Hobart, Tasmania; and Melbourne, Vic., before returning on January 26.

Fares are from £AI24, first class and £A9I, tourist class.