Australia announced today that it will open its borders from next month to vaccinated foreign students, skilled workers and holiday-work visa holders, easing some of the most stringent restrictive measures in the world.
Twenty months after Australia closes its borders, some visa holders, as well as Japanese and South Korean nationals, will be able to enter its territory from 1 December.
“Australia is reopening to the world,” said Home Secretary Karen Andrews, announcing the news, adding that it was “a new step forward for Australia”.
Australians, visa holders and Japanese, South Koreans and Singaporeans will now be able to travel to the country with only one negative coronavirus test prior to departure if they have been vaccinated against COVID. 19. However, some states still quarantine when entering their territory.
The government of Scott Morrison lifted restrictions on travel abroad for Australians last month, sparking bookings for the southern hemisphere summer.
However, the Australian Government has refused to ease restrictions on non-Australian citizens, a decision that barred some 1.4 million certified visa holders from entering Australia, barring them from returning if they decide to leave the country.
Groups of professionals and the university industry have been pushing for visa holders who have been vaccinated to return to the country as they struggle to fill positions and prepare for a third year of restrictions.
According to Universities Australia, which represents the university industry, 130,000 international students are still abroad.
“They want nothing more than to be with their classmates in Australia again,” said Universia Australia CEO Katriona Jackson, who described the decision as “excellent news”.
The restrictive measures in place had raised fears that many Asian students would choose to study with a physical presence in the US or Europe rather than pay for online courses at Australian universities.
There is currently no indication of a tourism opening, which is a severe blow to the hard-hit sector, with the number of visitors virtually reduced to zero after the closure of the Australian border in March. of 2020.
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