One of the most common procedures while visiting any nation is to fill out an entrance card, a departure card, and sometimes a separate customs declaration card. 

If you are travelling to Australia, you must fill out an arrival card known as an "Incoming Passenger Card." It functions as both an arrival card and a customs declaration card, containing all necessary information on a single card. 

Passengers in Australia are obliged by law to verify themselves and submit specific information by filling out an Incoming passenger card.

The Migration Act 1958 and the Migration Regulations 1994 govern the completion of passenger cards in Australia.

The incoming passenger card of Australia consists of two sides. On the front, you must fill out your basic information and the declaration; on the backside, you must fill out your contact details, the reason for the visit, and so on. To complete the card, you must use a Blue or Black Pen.

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Incoming Passenger Card in Australia: Form Filling Guide

Here are the different fields in the incoming passenger card of Australia:

Front Side

While filling out the front side of the form, write in capital letters in the respective boxes. If it exceeds, leave out that part of the text that doesn't fit into the boxes.

• Family Name: Your name or surname must be filled out as it appears in your Passport. If there are more letters than the number of boxes available, you can leave the extra ones at the end.
• Given names: In this field, you must enter your first or given name in your passport. If you want to add a middle name, you can do so by adding it here.
• Passport number: You need to include your passport number here.

• The flight number or name of the ship: You must write your flight number here.

• Intended Address in Australia: This is the address where you intend to stay during your visit to Australia.
• Question: Do you plan to live in Australia for at least one year? If so, you must answer "Yes" in the box below.

• Health Declaration: If you are not a citizen of Australia, the questions here will be: Have you been diagnosed with tuberculosis? If you have TB, select Yes by inserting an X in the box next to it; otherwise, you must pick No. It is critical to declare it appropriately; if you make incorrect declarations, you will be in trouble later. Do you have any criminal records: You must also state whether you have ever been arrested or convicted. It would be best if you did it accurately. If you have ever been convicted of anything, choose Yes.

• Customs Declaration Section – Incoming Passenger Card: You must fill out the customs declaration form appropriately for whatever you bring into Australia. Here are the questions in order.

1. Goods that may be banned or restricted, such as medicines, steroidal substances, illegal pornography, firearms or weapons? You need to declare by saying yes if you're bringing in any of these items like restricted medicines, steroids or weapons by putting an X next to yes. If you haven't brought any, you can tick No.
2. If you have bought something duty-free by accident, which is more than the allowed limit, like here of 2250ml of alcohol or cigarettes, you need to select X in the box below. If not, click the " No " button and put an X in the box next time.
3. If you're getting expensive items that cost more than AUS$ 900, including gifts, you must declare that when filling out your GST return. If you're not sure, then choose Yes. It is better to say yes than to get into trouble for saying no.
4. If you're a business traveller bringing any commercial samples or goods you intend to sell into the country, then you need to select "Yes" when asked if you want to declare them.
5. If you carry more than AUD10,000, you must declare the cash by saying "Yes". If you're carrying your home currency like US dollars, euros, or travellers' cheques, when converted, gets valued at 10,000 AUD, you must declare that.
6. If you bring in food items with meat, poultry, fruit or vegetables, you must select yes to declare them. It could even be organic food; you should declare it. If food items are allowed into the country, the customs officer will check and allow you to carry them in.
7. If you carry any dried fruit, grains, beans, seeds, bulbs, plants, parts of them, traditional medicines, etc., then you should carry them in your bag. You need to select "Yes" as well. Many people don't declare because they fear it will be thrown away. But, it is always better to declare first rather than get into trouble later. Often, an officer will check and let people carry their bags.
8. If you're getting any animals or animal products, including honey, birds, etc., you need to declare and choose "Yes." If not, choose no.
9. If you're bringing something into the country with soil attached to it, you must declare that, even if it's just for recreational purposes.
10. If you've been in contact with farms or farm animals within the last 30 days before your travel dates, you must declare and select yes. Otherwise, select no.
11. If you've been travelling in Africa, South/ Central America or the Caribbean recently, you need to answer yes. Otherwise, it would be best if you answered no.

• Declaration: You must declare that all you have written is correct and complete and that you are responsible for the consequence; if anything is wrong and you sign in the white box where it says Your Signature and put in the date next.

You will see text stating, “Turn Over the card”, in red to complete the other side.

Back Side

On the back of the incoming passenger card is information about your contact details, your job, your reason for visiting, etc. There is no specific instruction to write in uppercase letters. Still, it is recommended to write in uppercase letters.

• Your contact details in Australia: You must fill in your Australian contact information. Your phone number and email address are there. You can either fill out the full address for where you intend to stay or write down the city's name. You can enter your hotel address and email/phone number when you travel for tourism.
• Emergency Contact Details: You will need to provide your emergency contact details, like of any friends or family, so that they can notify you if something happens to you during your stay in Australia. It could be your wife, husband, father, mother or friend. You must enter their full name, email address, phone number, or mailing address.
• Section of Additional Information: You must answer a few questions in this area, which are mentioned below;

1. Which nation did you board this plane or cruise from?: You must identify the nation from where you boarded the plane or cruise.
2. What is your regular line of work?: You must provide your current job title. You state the same if you are a housewife. You write your job title if you are a software developer, likewise, for others.
3. Nationality as displayed on Passport? : You must precisely write your nationality/citizenship as it appears on your passport.
4. Date of Birth: Fill in the blanks with your date of birth, including the day, month, and year.

• Visit Purpose – Migration, Visitor, or Resident: In this part, you will encounter three questions with letters A, B, and C; pick the proper one and place an X in the appropriate box. Only one should be chosen.

1. Migrating permanently to Australia: If you have applied for permanent residency from abroad and are entering Australia as a permanent resident, then you would answer X under this question.
2. Visitors or Short-term Entrant: If you are heading to Australia for a temporary stay as a tourist or education, business meetings, or work, you would choose X in this box and specify the length of your intended stay in Australia, in days/years/months, based on your visa and your plans. Choosing a cause for visiting Australia: You will also need to choose your travel purpose, which is given below: Convention/Conference, Business, Visiting family or friends, Employment, Education, Exhibition, Holiday, and Others by checking the appropriate boxes and placing an X next to them.
3. If you're an Australian resident returning to your homeland, you'll need to select X under the "Where did you spend most of your time?" section and enter the details of where you spent most of your days when you weren't in Australia. You'll also need to indicate the main reason for your trip to Australia under that.

Incoming Passenger Card in Australia: Completing the card on another person's behalf

An Incoming Passenger Card can be completed for another traveller when someone else is responsible for that traveller. This includes parents/ guardians of minors and caregivers of travellers with special needs.

An Australian citizen who has not yet completed an incoming passenger card is considered to have completed one when the application needs to be completed on his/her behalf.