The Australian Government has announced that Australian borders will reopen 1 December 2021 by providing new arrangements for eligible visa holders.
The Department of Home Affairs has released a broad list of fully-vaccinated visa holders that are eligible for travel to Australia without needing to apply for a travel exemption. This list ranges across family-related visas, work visas, student visas, and humanitarian visas.
This list includes the following visa subclasses, as well as many others:
- Subclass 200 – Refugee Visa;
- Subclass 300 – Prospective Marriage Visa;
- Subclass 408 – Temporary Activity Visa;
- Subclass 417 – Working Holiday Visa;
- Subclass 461 – New Zealand Citizen Family Relationship Visa;
- Subclass 485 – Temporary Graduate Visa;
- Subclass 491 – Skilled Work Regional (Provisional) Visa;
- Subclass 500 – Student Visa; and
- Subclass 870 – Sponsored Parent (Temporary) Visa.
A travel preparation list has also been released to assist those planning their travel to Australia. This list includes information on the following:
- Quarantine requirements per Australian state or territory;
- Evidence of COVID-19 vaccination requirements;
- Information regarding the Australia Travel Declaration requirement;
- A negative COVID-19 Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) test result; and
- The arrival process at the airport.
To support these eased restrictions, the Therapeutic Goods Administration has also expanded the recognised list of COVID-19 vaccines. This is to allow more travellers to meet the criteria for these eased restrictions. This list now includes:
- AstraZeneca Vaxzevria;
- AstraZeneca Covishield;
- Pfizer/Biontech Comirnaty;
- Moderna Spikevax;
- Sinovac Coronavac;
- Bharat Biotech Covaxin;
- Sinopharm BBIBP-CorV (for 18-60 year olds); and
- Johnson & Johnson/ Janssen-Cilag COVID Vaccine.
If you have any questions about your eligibility for these eased restrictions and new arrangements, do not hesitate to contact our team.
Nevett Ford Lawyers – Immigration Lawyer Melbourne & Australian Citizenship Lawyer
Telephone: +61 3 9614 7111
Email: melbourne@nevettford.com.au
Visit our website: www.nevettford.com.au