Australia to reopen to some visa holders!
Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison announced in a media statement on 22 November that Australia’s borders will reopen to fully-vaccinated eligible visa holders from abroad on 1 December!
Who is eligible?
You may travel to and enter Australia from December if you fall within any of these categories:
- Skilled workers
- Student visa holders
- Provisional family visa holders
- Working Holiday Makers
- Holders of humanitarian visas
What are the requirements?
The great news is that you don’t have to apply for a travel exemption!
You must, however:
- Be fully vaccinated with a completed dosage of a vaccine approved or recognised by Australia’s Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA)
- Hold a visa for one of the eligible visa subclasses
- Provide proof of your vaccination status
- Present a negative COVID-19 PCR test taken within three days of your departure to Australia.
- Comply with the quarantine requirements in the state or territory of your arrival, and any other state or territory to which you plan to travel.
Why only selected visa holders?
Prime Minister Scott said, “Consistent with the National Plan to safely reopen Australia, these changes will ensure we continue to protect the health of Australians, while reuniting families and securing our economic recovery”.
He elaborated by saying that the return of skilled workers and international students to Australia will provide the valuable workers Australia needs and support the country’s important education sector.
Parents of Australians can already travel Down Under
Australia reopened their borders to parents of Australian citizens and permanent residents on 1 November.
Parents do have to apply for a travel exemption and may only travel to states and territories that have reached 80% of its double-dose vaccination targets.
That means parents can travel to the ACT, New South Wales, Victoria and Tasmania at the time of writing. South Australia could open for parents next as 78.52% of its residents are fully vaccinated.
Check your eligibility
If you’re unsure of whether or not you could travel to Australia, you can contact us for advice. You can book a consultation call with our licensed advisor or get hold of us by calling +27 (0) 21 202 8200.
Our team can tell you if you can travel and help you apply for any visas or a travel exemption if you’re a parent. We’ve already successfully applied for exemptions for three sets of parents!
