Travel Exemption Australia Update: Eligible Visa Holders Now Can Enter Australia!
On 22 November 2021, the Australian Federal Government announced that eligible Australian visa holders can travel to Australia without requesting a travel exemption.
Before entering and leaving the country, international travellers, citizens, and PR of Australia were required to get a travel exemption. The Government has now lifted the travel exemption requirement for eligible Australian visa holders.
Who are recognised as eligible Australian visa holders?
Eligible Australian Visa Holders in Travel Exemption Australia Requirements
To be considered as eligible Australian visa holders and travel to Australia without seeking travel exemption, you must be:
1. Fully Vaccinated
You will be considered a fully vaccinated traveler if you have completed a course of a Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) approved or recognised Covid-19 vaccine course. The currently accepted dosages of Covid-19 vaccines are:
- Two doses at least 14 days apart of:
- AstraZeneca Vaxzevria;
- AstraZeneca Covishield;
- Pfizer/Biontech Comirnaty;
- Moderna Spikevax;
- Sinovac Coronavac;
- Bharat Biotech Covaxin;
- Sinopharm BBIBP- CorV (for 18-60 years old travelers).
- Or one dose of:
- Johnson & Johnson/ Janssen-Cilag Covid Vaccine.
2. Evidence of Covid-19 Vaccination to leave or enter Australia
If you got your Covid-19 vaccination in Australia, you must show your International Covid-19 Vaccination Certificate (ICVC) as proof that you are fully vaccinated.
If you are vaccinated in your home country (outside Australia), you must show your vaccination certificate that meets all the requirements outlined on the Australian Passport Office website.
Please take note that your vaccination certificate should show that you are fully vaccinated.
3. Vaccination exemptions and arrangements for children and medical reasons
Children under 12 years old and other travellers who cannot be vaccinated due to health reasons can access the same travel arrangement as fully vaccinated travellers. Children aged 12-17 years old can travel with a fully vaccinated parent or guardian.
If the parent or guardian of the child is not vaccinated, then the entire family group will be subject to managed quarantine and passenger caps.
Read more: WA State Government: International Travel to Western Australia Might be Opened in January 2022
Departing and Entering Australia with Certain Health Condition in Travel Exemption Australia
There is also an arrangement regarding the travel exemption Australia if you want to leave or enter the country with a specific health condition that cannot get vaccinated.
1. Departing Australia
Suppose you are an Australian citizen or permanent resident leaving Australia. In that case, you must prove that you have a medical contraindication to all COVID-19 vaccines available in Australia, as recorded in the Australian Immunisation Register (AIR). You should provide your Australian COVID-19 digital certificate as verification. Otherwise, you might offer a statement on your immunisation history.
2. Entering Australia
You must check any regulations, particularly quarantine laws, in the state or territory you are traveling because they will affect your travel plans. You must submit a medical certificate stating that you cannot get a COVID-19 vaccine due to a medical condition. The medical certificate must include the following information:
- Your given name (this must match your travel identification documents);
- Date of medical consultation and medical practitioner;
- Information that clearly acknowledges that you have a medical condition that prevents you from receiving a COVID-19 immunisation (vaccination is contraindicated).
Read more: Australian Skilled Workers are Expected to Return to the Country by the end of 2021
Quarantine Rules for Travel Exemption Australia
Depending on the state or territory you are traveling to, you may be eligible for reduced quarantine requirements when you return to Australia.
You must follow the quarantine rules in the state or territory where you arrive and any other states or territories to which you want to go. Restrictions are subject to change at any time.
Returning visitors to Australia are only allowed to enter and travel between NSW, Victoria, and the ACT without being quarantined.
If you want to continue your journey to another state or territory, you may be denied entry or subjected to a quarantine period.
Read more: UPDATE: New Arrangements for Onshore and Offshore Visitor (Class FA) Visa Application
When will it be in place?
Fully vaccinated eligible visa holders can now travel to Australia without requesting a travel exemption as of 1 December 2021. People who have one of the following visas are considered as eligible:
- Subclass 200 – Refugee visa
- Subclass 201 – In-country Special Humanitarian visa
- Subclass 202 – Global Special Humanitarian visa
- Subclass 203 – Emergency Rescue visa
- Subclass 204 – Woman at Risk visa
- Subclass 300 – Prospective Marriage visa
- Subclass 400 – Temporary Work (Short Stay Specialist) visa
- Subclass 403 – Temporary Work (International Relations) visa (other streams, including Australian Agriculture Visa stream)
- Subclass 407 – Training visa
- Subclass 408 – Temporary Activity visa
- Subclass 417 – Working Holiday visa
- Subclass 449 – Humanitarian Stay (Temporary) visa
- Subclass 457 – Temporary Work (Skilled) visa
- Subclass 461 – New Zealand Citizen Family Relationship visa
- Subclass 462 – Work and Holiday visa
- Subclass 476 – Skilled – Recognised Graduate visa
- Subclass 482 – Temporary Skill Shortage visa
- Subclass 485 – Temporary Graduate visa
- Subclass 489 – Skilled – Regional (Provisional) visa
- Subclass 491 – Skilled Work Regional (Provisional) visa
- Subclass 494 – Skilled Employer Sponsored Regional (Provisional) visa
- Subclass 500 – Student visa
- Subclass 580 – Student Guardian visa (closed to new applicants)
- Subclass 590 – Student Guardian visa
- Subclass 785 – Temporary Protection visa
- Subclass 790 – Safe Haven Enterprise visa
- Subclass 870 – Sponsored Parent (Temporary) visa
- Subclass 988 – Maritime Crew visa
If you wish to check your eligibility for an Australian visa, don’t hesitate to contact us via email at [email protected] or phone at 1300 827 159.
What does it mean to you?
As we can see from the visa holders list, Australian skilled worker visa holders, Australian student visa holders and parents of Australian citizens and PR can enter Australia without seeking a travel exemption from 1 December 2021.
It is another step taken by the Australian Federal Government to open the country for international travel slowly. Hopefully, Australian visitor visa holders might be able to enter the country with the same arrangement in the near future!
Are you the eligible Australian Visa Holders?
If you are one of the eligible Australian visa holders and wish to travel to Australia, it’s best to prepare yourself now! ONE derland Consulting can help you to obtain the visa!
We fully understand that applying for a visa to Australia is certainly very complicated. It is even more challenging during the COVID-19 pandemic. Our visa specialists at ONEderland Consulting will help you assess your visa options. We have a 98% success rate and are one of Australia’s most highly recommended migration agents. Read our 4.9* score customer reviews.
We are complex visa specialists. As registered Australian migration agents with the Migration Agents Registration Authority (MARA), we are regulated in our professional practice and bound by the profession’s Code of Conduct issued by the Migration Agents Registration Authority.
Take the first step and get in touch with us. Our team members are professional, honest and speak various languages such as Mandarin/ Chinese, Bahasa Indonesia, Arabic, Japanese, and Thailand. Contact us through email at [email protected] or via phone on 1300 827 159. Alternatively, you may book your consultation online, and it is backed by our 100% Money Back Guarantee Program.
