Borders open to eligible visa holders on December 1
Australia will open the door to as many as 200,000 eligible visa holders from December 1 in a major update of the nation’s re-opening plan as the fully vaccinated rate hits 85 per cent.
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Australia’s borders will open to fully vaccinated eligible visa holders including skilled workers and students from December 1.
Fully vaccinated tourists from South Korea and Japan will also be allowed to fly into the country without having to apply for an exemption and skip quarantine.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison announced the next stage of Australia’s pandemic reopening plan as the nation hit a fully vaccinated rate of 85 per cent of the eligible population.
From next month fully vaccinated eligible visa holders can come to Australia without needing to apply for a travel exemption.
This includes skilled and student cohorts, as well as humanitarian, working holiday maker and provisional family visa holders.
Travellers must be fully vaccinated with a completed dosage of a vaccine approved or recognised by Australia’s Therapeutic Goods Administration, hold a valid visa for one of the eligible visa subclasses, provide proof of their vaccination status, and present a negative COVID-19 Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) test taken within three days of departure.
Arrivals “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.
Mr Morrison also announced two more travel bubble countries, South Korea and Japan.
It comes after Australia’s travel bubble with Singapore began on Sunday, with travellers - mainly reuniting family members - arriving in Sydney.
“Today we are taking another step forward, a very important step forward,” Mr Morrison said.
“The steps we are taking today are about securing our economic recovery, Australians looking forward and taking Australia forward.”
The federal government says the move heralds the start of the final phase of reopening following the pandemic.
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