AUSTRALIAN SUPERYACHTS | CASE STUDY
Superyacht Crew Visas
The 408 superyacht crew visa, turned around quickly and right the first time
Facts
| Service | Superyacht crew visas: subclass 408 Temporary Activity visa, superyacht crew activity |
|---|---|
| Track record | Hundreds of crew visas since 2009, for yachts from 40 m to over 120 m |
| Typical clients | Visiting foreign-flagged superyachts and their managers, captains and pursers |
| What we handle | Vessel sponsorship, every crew application, medicals and health checks, passport changes, new joiners, technicians and edge cases |
The problems we solved
Fifty crew, one batch, granted within three weeks
The problem: A 100 m motor yacht planning a 2026 Pacific season needed visas for about fifty crew of several nationalities, rotating three captains and two pursers, with ten crew needing medicals and many on leave around the world.
What we did: We started five months ahead, secured the vessel’s sponsorship through one captain on behalf of all three, set up a shared folder for every crew member, and lodged 44 applications in a single batch the moment sponsorship was approved.
The result: 34 visas were granted within three weeks of sponsorship approval, the medical cases followed as results came in, and the purser confirmed “we now have visas for all crew” months before arrival.
Specialist technicians on board in six days
The problem: A 120 m superyacht in Cairns needed European warranty technicians urgently. Their own agency quoted about four weeks for the visa it planned to use.
What we did: Richard recognised that the warranty work fitted the Subclass 400 Temporary Work (Short Stay Specialist) visa, which is built for short, highly specialised jobs. We lodged the applications and asked Immigration to prioritise them.
The result: The visas were granted six days after lodgement and the technicians’ flights were booked the same day.
Quote
“Submitting our applications through Captain Richard Morris saved time. It avoided frustrations from minor errors, and he was able to leverage his experience and contacts to have visas issued faster than the quoted timeframes when exigent circumstances required it.”
