With the third wave of COVID-19 gripping the entire world times are really uncertain and so is the situation with the borders of many countries. However, people need to remain optimistic as life goes on even in the worst of times.
Gradual Opening of Australian Borders:
Department of Health Secretary Dr. Brendan Murphy states that Australia’s borders might be closed to most international destinations for most of 2021, depending on the status of Australia’s nationwide vaccination program. Dr. Murphy told ABC, “I think that we’ll go most of this year with still substantial border restrictions. Even if we have a lot of the population vaccinated, we don’t know whether that will prevent transmission of the virus.”
Australia may not fully open its borders to international travelers until the vaccine has been widely rolled out. Health Minister Greg Hunt says the goal is to have community vaccination in Australia by October 2021, and the first rounds of vaccinations have already been underway. You can check if you are eligible for the vaccine on the Department of Health website. Quarantines may still be a mandatory prevention measure throughout the year.
Qantas has recently announced that it is set to recommence international flights on 31 October 2021. Qantas plans to relaunch most of its long-haul international flight by using 11 of its 787-9 aircraft as well as their A330s. This change has been brought about due to the government’s rollout of the COVID-19 vaccinations. However, this is still subject to change.
This news would be welcome by many as it will allow temporary and permanent migrants to return to Australia. However, some incoming travelers may still be required to undergo two-week mandatory quarantine.
Since the implementation of international travel bans in March 2020, all arrivals on visitor and temporary migration visas have been prevented (exemptions apply). The ban also prevented Australian citizens and permanent residents from departing Australia (exemptions apply).
Based on the announced policy the current plan (between July to December 2020) it is decided to lift the travel ban for Australian citizens, permanent residents, New Zealanders, and some international students. However, Treasurer Josh Frydenberg cautioned that the policy is subject to change due to the evolving situation of coronavirus.
“The assumptions are that it very gradually starts to come back, that quarantine is applied, that you start potentially bringing in international students,”
“Of course the environment with respect to the coronavirus is very fluid.”
“Decisions haven’t been taken about the start date for that.”
Travel Bubbles
The trans-Tasman travel bubble opened on 19 April 2021. This means travelers from Australia and New Zealand can travel between the two countries without needing to quarantine. For more information on the trans-Tasman travel bubble, see here: Australia and New Zealand Travel Bubble.
On 15 March 2021, Deputy Prime Minister Michael McCormack said that Australia and Singapore could form a travel bubble as soon as July 2021. Australians would be able to enter Singapore without having to quarantine and vice versa, so as long as all travelers participating in the travel bubble have been vaccinated.
In late 2020, Prime Minister Scott Morrison said that Australia could also be willing to open its borders to low-risk countries in Asia (which Pakistan is also a part of) and the South Pacific, The United States and Europe are not likely to be part of a travel bubble until their case numbers drop substantially. However, forming these bubbles requires both destinations to be open to one another.
When can international students come back to Australia?
The Australian Government supports the return of international students to Australia. The return of international students is being led by state and territory governments in consultation with the Australian Government and education institutions in their jurisdictions. To support the scaling up of student arrivals in a COVID-safe way, the Government has developed the Protocols and Preconditions for International Student Arrivals.
There’s no date for when international students will be allowed to enter Australia after the Australian government lowered the number of international arrivals, prioritizing returning Australian residents over other visitors.
Various plans for a pilot scheme to bring students in on charter flights and house them in quarantine have been drafted but only one small scheme has managed to get off the ground.
The key reason for this plan is to bring back international students who are stranded overseas. Continuous delay in bringing in students would affect universities drastically (even with the recent changes to support international students). The international education industry is the fourth-largest industry in Australia. Students bring approximately $39 billion into the Australian economy.
The budget forecast also predicted that the net overseas migration will fall to 31,000 in 2020-21. Net overseas migration is affected by international travel restrictions and constraints on the ability of applicants to meet visa application requirements, and is assumed to fall from 232,000 in 2018-19 to be 154,000 in 2019-20 and 31,000 in 2020-21.
In light of all the facts above it can be said that the Australian government will likely open its borders soon (within 2021) for international students/temporary workers as it is not just important for the economic strength and stability of Australia.