From today, unvaccinated Australians and permanent citizens are allowed to leave the country without an individual travel exemption.
Australia closed their borders in March 2020 due to the pandemic and kept them closed for almost two years. During the border closures, the rules stipulated that Australians weren’t able to travel overseas either unless they received an exemption.
In February of this year, Australia reopened its international borders to vaccinated travellers from overseas, as well as residents to come home without quarantining. The mandatory quarantine period was lifted for all travellers and residents arriving in New South Wales who were fully vaccinated.
Over the past few months, the rest of Australia has slowly removed their travel restrictions and allowed travellers to enter and leave the country. However, the relaxed rules only applied to those who were fully vaccinated.
According to the official government site for Australia, australia.gov.au, unvaccinated travellers are now able to leave the country for the first time in over two years.
“From 18 April 2022, unvaccinated Australian citizens and permanent residents can leave Australia without an individual travel exemption. Travellers entering or leaving Australia will no longer require a negative pre-departure test and cruise vessels can enter Australian territory,” the updated blurb on the site reads.
However, while unvaccinated travellers are able to leave Australia, the same site stipulates that “international travellers who arrive in Australia without meeting vaccination requirements, and without an exemption, may be considered for visa cancellation, detention and removal.”
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And, while Australia is now allowing unvaccinated residents to travel overseas, the majority of international countries won’t accept tourists unless they’re fully vaccinated. The United States, Indonesia and Thailand are just three of many countries that require travellers to be fully vaccinated in order to enter the country without a quarantine period.
For more on this topic, follow the Travel Observer.
