Highlights
- Australia reopens borders to international students, skilled migrants and refugees from 1 December
- Vaccinated international students with a valid visa will no longer need an exemption to travel to Australia
- Eligible visa holders across 28 subclasses can return as part of the reopening phase
Luvpreet Singh, a temporary graduate visa holder who has been leading a group of hundreds of 485 visa holders stranded in India, said he cannot express his feelings in words.
Thank you, Australia!
"This is the best news ever. It is way beyond our expectations," said Mr Singh, who has written countless emails to Australian federal and local ministers over the past 18 months, requesting the government lift travel restrictions for temporary visa holders.
Indian international students and skilled migrants welcome the announcement
"We have been fighting this battle ever since Australia closed its borders to visa holders in March 2020. The members of the group and I are thankful to the government for finally addressing our concerns.
Luvpreet Singh Source: Supplied by Mr Singh
"We are now just worried for our fellow brothers and sisters whose 485 visas expired during the past 18 months. I hope the government soon announces visa extensions for them so they too can return," the 30-year-old said.
'Major milestone in our pathway back'
COVID-19 Update: Australia open to fully vaccinated eligible visa holders from December 1 Source: AAP
Fully vaccinated international students and eligible visa holders will be able to set foot on Australian shores from the beginning of next month without the need for an inward travel exemption, bringing the country another step closer to pre-COVID times.
In making the announcement on Monday, Prime Minister Scott Morrison said the return of temporary visa holders is a "major milestone" in the country's economic recovery from the pandemic.
"We have done this in an orderly way. At first, we said, let's get Australians home fully vaccinated, and that's been occurring from the first of this month. So from the first of next month, we will welcome back students, start looking back at the skilled visas that are needed to ensure we are able to take full advantage of the economic recovery that we are working to secure," Mr Morrison said during a press conference earlier today.
Expanding on the federal government's decision to open borders, Home Affairs Minister Karen Andrews said around 200,000 visa holders, including international students, humanitarian visa holders, provisional family visa holders and working holiday visa holders, across 28 subclasses are expected to return as part of the reopening phase.
"We are working on a figure of 200,000, it may well be more than that, but we will be actively looking to bring as many people into Australia as soon as we possibly can," she said.
Ms Andrews, however, did not clarify how many more places out of the allocated spots available for the skill stream in this year's Migration Program will be made available in each visa category.
The 2021-2022 Migration Program currently has an overall planning level of 160,000 places, including 79,600 places for the skill stream, 13,750 in the humanitarian program, while there is no cap on the overall student intake.
What does it mean for international students?
For international students, the news means they no longer have to wait for states and territories to announce pilot plans if they hold a valid visa and are fully vaccinated.
Business student Sandeep Kaushik had travelled to India in March last year to recover from injuries he had sustained in a road accident in Sydney.
Sandeep Kaushik welcomes Australian government's decision to reopen borders for international students. Source: Supplied by Sandeep Kaushik
The 28-year-old, who has now made a full recovery, said the government's decision to lift the border ban took him by surprise.
"I cannot hold my excitement. We thought it would take another six months for students to return through pilot plans that only allowed select students in small numbers to fly back on charter planes.
"We were not expecting the government to lift the border ban completely. I have already started looking for a travel agent who can book me on the next available flight in December," he said.
International Education Association of Australia chief executive Phil Honeywood, who has been lobbying for the return of overseas students in large numbers, said this is "incredibly exciting news for students".
"From 1 December, all eligible student visa holders will not need a travel exemption and, of course, they will need a negative PCR test within three days of departure. This means no quarantine, they can come back and start their studies, but we ask and plead for students to work with their university to see if they can get a charter flight if they cannot get a commercial flight into Sydney or Melbourne," he said.
Mr Honeywood said while the students will no longer have to wait for states and jurisdictions to announce pilot plans, they would be subject to the quarantine arrangements of the jurisdictions they are travelling to.
More than 200,000 visa holders are expected to return as part of the government's final reopening phase. Source: Getty Images/FotografiaBasica
Treasurer Josh Frydenberg said safely reopening Australia's international borders to skilled migrants, and overseas students is the "next natural step" that would accelerate the country's economic recovery from the pandemic.
"As our recovery gathers pace, businesses around the country are increasingly in need of skilled workers, whether they be in hospitality, mining, construction, or professional services.
"In meetings last week with businesses representing almost every sector of the economy, the most pressing issue raised was workforce shortages and the need to reopen our borders, allowing skilled migration to recommence," he said.
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