You may remain in Australia as long as you are a crew member of a Maritime Crew Visa (MCV) eligible ship that is in Australia.
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Maritime Crew visa (subclass 988)
This visa allows foreign crew on a Maritime Crew visa eligible ship to enter Australia by sea when on an international voyage. It is also for the partner or dependent child of a foreign crew member of an eligible ship, when on the same ship.
At a Glance
Free
for an indication of processing times for this visa, use the visa processing time guide tool. This will show the processing times for recently decided applications. It is a guide only and not specific to your application.
See all conditions
You need to:
- be outside Australia when you lodge an application
- comply with Australia's health and quarantine requirements
- be a crew member, or have a current offer to be a crew member, on an MCV eligible ship, such as a cargo or passenger ship on an international voyage to Australia
- not be a crew member, or seeking to join, on an ineligible ship including private sector research vessels, most fishing vessels, yachts or superyachts
- not be an Australian citizen or the holder of a permanent Australian visa.
Help with your visa
If you are getting help with your visa, before you pay someone, read information on Who can help with your visa application.
With this visa, you may...
- arrive and depart Australia by sea as a crew member of an MCV eligible ship
- remain in Australia for as long as you are signed on as a crew member of an MCV eligible ship
- sign off your ship to join another MCV eligible ship, or to leave Australia
- only perform work in Australia that meets the normal operational duties of a crew member of your ship
- only arrive by sea - if you want to fly to Australia, you will need to hold another valid visa.