Should you travel overseas in 2022? 13 things to know before you depart
Pre-flight requirements, re-entry rules and more insights from a returned traveller.
In true pandemic-era fashion, my partner and I spent four months agonising over whether we should leave for a holiday in Italy to celebrate our anniversary, and spent a frenzied two days booking everything we needed to — flights, hotels, the lot — in the 48 hours before we left. 2022, after all, has been proclaimed the year of the last-minute trip, a phenomenon that will see travellers adapting to our new, uncertain reality. Voyagers are no longer taking the future for granted. Instead, they’re fully embracing the moment, seizing the opportunity to fly when they can, and leaping over hurdles should they arise.
Of course, despite the increasingly spontaneous nature of international travel, it’s important to be fully informed about the rigorous processes you’ll need to undertake in order to leave and re-enter Australia, as well as the public health regulations of the country you’ll be visiting. Here’s what I learned from my own European holiday in January, from the paperwork I prepared before departure, to what I packed and what I had to get ready before my return home.
Before You Depart
The first booking I made as soon as I got the travel bug was for my booster shot, which I’d highly recommend at least two weeks before you’re thinking of going overseas. When we were travelling around Italy, security guards would look for certain cues on our vaccination certificates before admitting us into private venues: they gave approving nods after spotting the Cominarty/Pfizer name — though Moderna and AstraZeneca are both recognised as of September 2021 — as well as the record of three administered shots. Most importantly, the protection the booster offers against Omicron, increasing vaccine efficacy from 86.2% to 98.2%, provides both real security and much welcome peace of mind.
You will also need to apply for an international COVID-19 vaccination certificate, mentioned above, which you can do through MyGov. Unfortunately, the QR code I was given did not work in Italy. Luckily, I had printed a hard copy to carry around with us as proof. Make sure to print yours out before you leave — multiple copies if necessary — and make a booking at a doctor’s clinic at your destination for a QR code that will work domestically when you land. In Italy, this will come in the form of an EU Digital Covid Certificate, otherwise known as a Green Pass. You’ll be given instructions on how to download one after you’ve tested negative on a PCR and provided your Australian proof of vaccination to a physician. As visitors to Europe, we were also required to fill out an EU Digital Passenger Locator Form, which is used to facilitate contact tracing.
Next, purchase comprehensive travel insurance to cover you for any health-related issues or cancellations that might arise due to border closures or other unforeseen circumstances. The same approach should be taken when booking hotels and flights. As we were filling out our itinerary, we were incredibly careful to book hotels that had full refund and free cancellation policies without a deadline; similarly, we chose Qatar Airways for their generous COVID-19 policy, which offers unlimited date changes and free refunds for travel until May 31, 2022. Other airlines have also adopted this policy lasting until mid-2022 — if you’re planning on travelling after this date, check in with a help desk or travel agent for more information.
After we sorted out the meatier elements of our travel plan, we began the packing process. Plenty of hand sanitiser was placed into our carry-ons, while masks, both surgical and N95, were stored in our check-in bags. We both wore N95s on the airplane. Though Australians can often be seen in surgical and cloth masks on the street, indoors and on public transport, be sure to double check the masking regulations of the country you’re visiting. In Italy, those without N95s were not permitted on public transport — in fact, most wore N95s in private venues, and even outdoors.
Something that really convinced me to travel to Italy as opposed to other countries was their Reciprocal Health Care Agreement with Australia, which covers particular medical costs you might incur on your trip, including essential or emergency care, within their public system. Find out if similar agreements exist with other nations on the Services Australia website here.
Finally, you’ll need a negative PCR test to present to the flight officials before checking in. Make a booking at the Sydney Airport Histopath here, which will deliver results within 90 minutes. Though a negative result is valid for 48 and sometimes 72 hours, my partner and I chose to take the test on the day of our flight, in case there were flight delays, or if transit times meant that the result would be invalid upon landing in Italy.
During Your Travels
I’m not going to lie — I was absolutely terrified in the early days of my trip, and there was a level of that anxiety that persisted throughout my two weeks in Italy. The fear that I would contract Covid and become seriously ill or test positive right before my return to Sydney was ever-present. I was on holiday, but by no means at rest. I suppose this heightened vigilance could come to define international travel from now on, even if you’re meant to be vacationing.
Fortunately, I found that preventative measures worked well to alleviate my worries in a practical way; I sanitised my hands (probably more often than I needed to), kept my N95 nice and fitted both outdoors and indoors, stayed socially distanced, and was boostered at an optimal time. If you’re travelling to a country where Rapid Antigen Tests (RAT) are more readily available, I’d also recommend stocking up and testing yourself every few days, so you can prepare for a contingency plan as early as possible if you become positive for Covid.
Other than introducing those practices into my routine, I found that I was able to travel pretty normally. Most places were open in Italy, and with the N95 masking regulations and thorough checking of vaccine certificates, I was actually able to relax with the knowledge that Covid transmission was as mitigated as possible. If I had to put forward another piece of advice, it would be perhaps to make bookings — sometimes, my partner and I turned up to landmarks to discover tickets had been sold out, likely due to indoor crowding restrictions, though this didn’t impact our holiday too significantly. Most of all, I was just grateful to be there, enjoying an experience that I wasn’t sure was possible after 2019.
Returning Home
As with boarding your departure flight, airlines require a negative PCR test within 72 hours of your return. We made a booking at a doctor’s clinic two days before leaving the country, with results delivered to our emails the next day. Be aware that PCR tests overseas can be expensive; ours cost approximately AU$150. Make sure to factor in any other Covid-related costs when you’re budgeting for the trip.
Australia also requires that all passengers, residents or otherwise, complete a travel declaration form at least 72 hours before your flight. Warning: unlike downloading your international vaccination certificate, this is quite a lengthy process. I’d recommend sitting down properly for this one and giving it your undivided attention — you’ll have to download an app, create an account, verify that account (I had to verify my account via email five separate times before it was satisfied), and fill out details of the last 14 days of your travel history, the exact dates of each of your vaccinations, and more.
Once you’ve completed that, however, the worst is over. Another N95 masked series of flights later, and we touched down in Australia. Though we weren’t permitted to leave the plane for another hour — the flight attendants informed us that health officials were checking the flight’s documentation — we subsequently made our way through customs with little trouble. Back home and in the company of our loved ones, we felt immensely lucky and relieved — not quite ready to do it again so soon, but certainly more acquainted with travel’s new normal.