Fully vaccinated Temporary Australian visa holders can travel to Australia

Australia continues to take further steps to safely reopen to the world, with additional changes to our international border arrangements coming into effect on 1 December.

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 by opening our border to skilled and student visa holders.

From 1 December 2021, fully vaccinated eligible visa holders can come to Australia without needing to apply for a travel exemption. Eligible visa holders include skilled and student cohorts, as well as humanitarian, working holiday maker and provisional family visa holders.

Under these arrangements, travellers must:

• Be fully vaccinated with a completed dosage of a vaccine approved or recognised by Australia’s Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA)
• Hold a valid visa for one of the eligible visa subclasses
• Provide proof of their vaccination status
• Present a negative COVID-19 Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) test taken within three days of departure.

Travellers to Australia must comply with the quarantine requirements in the state or territory of their arrival, and any other state or territory to which they plan to travel.

The return of skilled workers and international students to Australia will further cement our economic recovery, providing the valuable workers our economy needs and supporting our important education sector. 

From 1 December 2021, Australia will also welcome back fully vaccinated citizens from Japan and the Republic of Korea. Under these arrangements, citizens of Japan and the Republic of Korea who hold a valid Australian visa will be able to travel from their home country quarantine-free to participating states and territories, without needing to seek a travel exemption.

Under these arrangements, travellers must:

• Depart from their home country
• Be fully vaccinated with a completed dosage of a vaccine approved or recognised by the TGA
• Hold a valid Australian visa
• Provide proof of their vaccination status
• Present a negative COVID-19 PCR test taken within three days of departure.

Today’s announcement follows earlier changes which have seen us welcome home fully vaccinated Australians, permanent residents and their immediate family members since 1 November, and follows the commencement of the Singapore safe travel zone yesterday.

These changes demonstrate the success of our National Plan, as the Government continues to get Australia back to normal and reopen to the world safely.

Australian visa holders, international students and skilled workers will be able to travel into the country from next month, almost two years after borders closed due to the pandemic.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison said fully vaccinated visa holders would be eligible to enter Australia from December 1 without needing to apply for a travel exemption.

All citizens from Japan and South Korea will also be allowed to travel to Australia from that date, following similar travel arrangements with Singapore that started in November.

Morrison said the move was another important step forward in the national plan following COVID-19 lockdowns.

“The return of skilled workers and students to Australia is a major milestone in our pathway back, it’s a major milestone about what Australians have been able to achieve and enable us to do,” he said.

“It’ll mean a lot for the economies of our country who need those workers and want to see those students return.”

It’s estimated more than 233,000 visa holders would be allowed to come to Australia under the scheme.

Visa types will include humanitarian, student, economic and temporary and provisional family visas.

More than one million tourist visas will be allowed to enter the country at a later date not yet specified.

Since international travel resumed from Australia on November 1, only citizens, permanent residents and their families have been able to travel without quarantine.

Morrison said one of the reasons the decision was made to expand international travel was due to Australia’s high vaccination rate.

More than 85 per cent of the eligible population over 16 are fully vaccinated while 91.5 per cent have had one dose.

“These are extraordinary achievements by Australians,” he said.

Source

Prime Minister of Australia

https://www.pm.gov.au/media/further-steps-reopen-australia-and-secure-our-economic-recovery