Highlights
- Australia pushes back the planned reopening of international borders by two weeks to 15 December
- International students, skilled migrants stand to lose thousands of dollars in flight tickets due to last-minute delay
- Government insists it's a 'temporary and cautious pause' amid uncertainty over severity of Omicron variant
For Ankur Gupta, life was beginning to return to the track when the Morrison Government announced on 22 November that borders would reopen to international students and skilled migrants from 1 December.
Without wasting any time, the 31-year-old student booked the Air India flight from New Delhi to Sydney for himself and his dependent wife and son. They were due to fly out on 4 December.
'We are devastated'
Speaking to SBS Punjabi, Mr Gupta, who was pursuing a diploma in leadership and management from a Melbourne institute, said while he managed to secure tickets, they burnt a "tent-size hole" in his pocket.
"I spent nearly Rs 135,000 (nearly AUD 2,500) on each ticket," he said.
Mr Gupta said his world came tumbling down when the government announced late on Monday evening that Australia will pause the reopening of its international borders to overseas students and till 15 December amid growing concern over the Omicron variant.
"We are devastated. I can't even express in words how I felt. Unfortunately, my visa expires on 15 December, which means I now have no pathway to return to Australia unless I get a new student visa.
"And to make it worse, I have spent nearly $7,500 on tickets and overhead expenses, which is an excessive amount for someone on a student visa. While my travel agent has confirmed that tickets are refundable, I do not know when my money will return," he rued.
'We are not going back to lockdowns'
International students and visa holders have been left in limbo yet again as Australia delays reopening international borders. Source: Getty Images/mikkelwilliam
Nearly 200,000 international students, skilled migrants and humanitarian visa holders were due to be allowed into the country from tomorrow without having to quarantine if they were fully vaccinated. However, the federal government pushed the planned reopening by two weeks to gather more information on the new variant.
Defending his decision on Tuesday, Prime Minister Scott Morrison said he will not return to strict restrictions, insisting that there will be no more lockdowns or domestic border closures.
"We're not going back to lockdowns, none of us want that," said Mr Morrison, giving hope that borders could reopen before Christmas.
But despite the pause, the New South Wales government has declared that it will proceed with its international student pilot program which was announced in September.
Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison has urged calm after the Omicron variant was detected in Australia. Source: AAP
Minister for Home Affairs Karen Andrews told the Parliament that the government is mindful of the impact of the border changes on visa holders.
“We took this very sensible and very prudent decision based on health advice and that advice was that we needed to put in place a pause on the next stage of reopening our international borders," she told the House earlier today.
Ms Andrews added that the Morrison government is absolutely committed to doing all that it can to reopen the borders as soon as possible.
"We need to do that in a very safe and considerate manner," she said.
In addition to the pause, the government has already stopped flights from eight southern African countries and brought in quarantine requirements from anyone who recently entered Australia from the region.
All international arrivals are now required to self-isolate for 72 hours after landing in NSW, Victoria and the ACT. While in other states, 14 days of managed quarantine is required, and traveller cap arrangements are also in place.
Meanwhile, no further change was announced to border restrictions or quarantine arrangements during the national cabinet meeting on Tuesday. Leaders are, however, likely to hold another meeting in early December to assess the situation.
'Airlines must be held accountable for refunds'
Temporary graduate Luvpreet Singh and his wife received the devastating news just an hour before they were meant to depart for Delhi to board their flight, which would have touched down in Sydney on the morning of 1 December.
Luvpreet Singh risks losing thousands of dollars in flight tickets. Source: Supplied by Luvpreet Singh
"I now stand to lose thousands of dollars that I spent on our flight tickets which cannot be refunded but can only be rescheduled later. We were given no time to make alternate arrangements.
"But with how things stand currently, nothing is guaranteed. There is a possibility that the government can further push the reopening date," the 31-year-old said.
Mr Singh insisted that the airlines must be held accountable for issuing refunds to travellers who have been forced to cancel their tickets last minute due to no fault of their own.
Can the reopening of borders be extended beyond 15 December?
On being questioned if the border restrictions could extend beyond 15 December, Federal Health Minister Greg Hunt said the government's decision to pause the planned easing of border restrictions was done out of an "abundance of caution", and a further extension would depend on the medical advice.
"All of this is done on the presumption that we will recommence from 15 December, but medical advice will guide our decision-making throughout," Mr Hunt said.
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