Australian International Borders Set to Reopen to all Fully Vaccinated Visa Holders

On 7 February 2022, Prime Minister Scott Morrison announced that Australia will reopen international borders to all fully vaccinated travellers including tourists, business travellers and other visitors from 21 February 2022.

As it currently stands, entry will only be permitted to those who are fully vaccinated against COVID-19 or who hold a valid exemption from vaccination (must provide acceptable proof you cannot be vaccinated for medical reasons or are a child under 12 years of age).

Unvaccinated visa holders will still require a valid travel exemption to enter Australia.

State and Territory imposed arrival caps, COVID-19 testing requirements and quarantine arrangements will continue to apply. Arrangements are also in place in some states and territories to allow unvaccinated or partially vaccinated children aged 12-17 years to travel with a fully vaccinated adult.

Travellers are expected to comply with the requirements in the state or territory of their arrival, and any other state or territories that they plan to travel to. This includes quarantine and post-arrival testing requirements. Restrictions may change at short notice.

Official State and Territory requirements can be found here.

Checklist for Preparing to Travel to Australia from Overseas

• Check if you are exempt from Australia’s travel restrictions
• Check if you can access reduced quarantine requirements
• Obtain your foreign vaccination certificate or acceptable proof that you cannot be vaccinated due to medical reasons
• Complete an Australian Travel Declaration at least 72 hours before your flight
• Undertake a pre-departure COVID-19 test
• Have all required documentation and evidence prepared to present to airlines including:
• Proof that you meet Australia’s definition of fully vaccinated, or proof that youcannot be vaccinated for medical reasons. For information on proof, see Vaccinated Travellers.
• Evidence of the negative pre-departure Covid-19 PCR test as outlined above.
• Evidence of an approved Commissioner’s exemption to travel to Australia (where relevant)
• Evidence that you hold an eligible visa (where relevant)
• The usual travel documentation including passport, immigration and customs declarations etc.
• Evidence that you have provided critical health information, which includes your contact details for Australia, a declaration as to your vaccination status and travel history for the previous 14 days. This is via the Australia Travel Declaration, submitted prior to departure as outlined above.
• Evidence of your approved modified quarantine arrangements (where relevant)

It is your responsibility to ensure you meet the above and all other travel requirements including those of the airline you are travelling with and any countries you will transit.

Further details on the above requirements and checklist can be found here.

Recognised Vaccine

The Australian Government will consider a person to be fully vaccinated if they have completed a course of a Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) approved or recognised vaccine and have received the following vaccines and dosages (includes mixed doses):

Two doses at least 14 days apart of:

• AstraZeneca Vaxzevria
• AstraZeneca Covishield
• Pfizer/Biontech Comirnaty
• Moderna Spikevax
• Sinovac Coronavac
• Bharat Biotech Covaxin
• Sinopharm BBIBP-CorV (for 18-60 year olds)

OR one dose of:

• Johnson & Johnson/ Janssen-Cilag COVID Vaccine

At least 7 days must have passed since the final dose of vaccine in a course of immunisation for you to be considered fully vaccinated.

The TGA will also continue its assessment of other COVID-19 vaccines that may be recognised in the future for the purposes of inbound travel to Australia.

Travel Ban Exemption Information Australia

Further information on the current status of the Australian Travel Restrictions including criteria for a travel restriction exemption can be found here.