For those wanting to travel to come to Australia, there will be a few important considerations to make to ensure you are able to enter without difficulty:
What visa should I get?
If you do not yet hold a valid visa, knowing which particular type of visa you should apply for can be challenging. There are currently more than 80 different types of visas that you can apply for in Australia, ranging from visitor visas, studying visas, working and skilled visas, family visas and refugee and humanitarian visas.
The particular subclass that you should apply for will depend on a number of key factors, such as:
- the purpose of your travel (for example, are you travelling for a holiday? Would you like to work while you are here? Do you plan on studying?);
- how long you want to stay for;
- and in some cases, your age, skills and experience,among other factors.
Usually, if you are simply wishing to travel for a holiday, the Visitor (subclass 600) Visa, Electronic Travel Authority (subclass 601) or eVisitor (subclass 651) may be suitable to facilitate your visit. However, like all visas, these visas have very specific requirements as to what information and documents are needed to satisfy the requirements according to the law, and should be carefully considered.
What is considered ‘fully vaccinated’?
You are considered ‘fully vaccinated’ for the purpose of travel to and from Australia, once you have had two doses of a recognised vaccine.
Recognised vaccines include all vaccines that have been approved by the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA). This list is updated frequently as the TGA evaluates further options; however, the current list is available on the Department of Home Affairs’ website.
If you are unable to be vaccinated for medical reasons, and have a formal medical exemption as proof, then you are taken to be ‘fully vaccinated’ for this purpose. Evidence of this will be required. Children under 12 years old are also taken to be ‘fully vaccinated’ in the same way.
In order to prove that you are fully vaccinated, you will need to provide a vaccination certificate. If you were vaccinated overseas, you must ensure that your certificate is in English (or is translated), was issued by a national or state/provincial-level authority or an accredited vaccination provider, and includes:
- your name (as it appears in your passport);
- your date of birth, passport number OR national identity number;
- the vaccine brand name, and
- the date of each dose OR the date that your full course of immunisation was completed.
You will need to present this certificate at the airport to be permitted entry to Australia, so please ensure you have a copy on you before your travel.
What else do I need to know?
Before travel, you will also need to:
- provide a negative COVID-19 test result, undertaken within 3 days of your flight’s scheduled departure; and
- submit a Digital Passenger Declaration within 72 hours before your flight, in order to provide critical health information.
You should also check the current quarantine requirements at your destination. Currently, there is no requirement for vaccinated travellers to undertake mandatory hotel quarantine on entry to many states and territories (including Queensland, New South Wales and Victoria); however, you must ensure you are familiar with the testing and reporting obligations in each destination relevant to you.
What if I am not vaccinated?
If you are not vaccinated, then you are required to apply for an exemption to travel to Australia (or to depart Australia, if you are an Australian permanent resident or citizen). Your ability to apply for an exemption will depend on your particular circumstances, such as whether you are a critical worker or if there are compelling and compassionate circumstances present.
You will need to prepare an application and supporting evidence to Australian Border Force for consideration, for them to determine if you are eligible for an exemption from Australia’s international border restrictions. The evidence required depends on your particular circumstances; however, you may need to provide documents to prove the situation, and provide a legally binding Commonwealth Statutory Declaration in support of the same.
I need help
The team at All Access Migration has extensive experience with all aspects of Australian immigration law, including various visa subclasses (and determining eligibility for each), and advising on the border restrictions, as well as any exemptions for those who are unvaccinated.
Our level of assistance ranges from a consultation to point you in the right direction, through to our full-service application options (where we take the application out of your hands), and how you choose to proceed will depend entirely on you, your needs and your preferences.
If you would like to discuss your options and how we can help you, please contact our team at All Access Migration, or call us on 1300 749 709.
*Please note that this information is current as at 22 February 2022. The circumstances surrounding Covid-19 and the Australian border restrictions are ever changing and as such, the above is subject to change. We recommend that you contact our team to confirm the current information.
