Australia: International Travel Will Not Reopen Until Late 2021

When will international students come back to Australia? According to the country’s federal budget papers, it may be closed until the end of 2021.

While several countries are willing to reopen their left and right borders, the Australian government has agreed to wait until removing travel restrictions before a vaccine is available. They ban travel and unlikely to open its borders until late 2021. The instruction applies both ways, meaning Australians will be largely powerless to travel overseas, while tourists will be unable to enter Australia.

Josh Frydenberg, the Treasurer, said: “International travel, including by tourists and global students, is assumed to remain largely shut off until late next year and then gradually coming back over time and a vaccine to be available around the end of 2021 is one of the assumptions in the budget.”

“We have taken every step possible to give Australia the best likely chance of getting a vaccine. We know that the road out of this crisis will be unpredictable. We also know that this budget outlines possible alternative upside and downside scenarios. We are taking nothing for granted.”

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Travel to Australia Not Possible Until ‘Late Next Year’

“The Australian Government says Australia’s borders will probably remain closed until the end of 2021.”

Meanwhile, the country will soon permit domestic travel later this year; restrictions are expected to lift by December this year. However, Western Australia will reopen borders in April 2021.

COVID-19 cases in Australia remain relatively low, with 27,182 confirmed cases to date and just 897 deaths.

In comparison, the UK has had seen over half a million cases and over 42,000 deaths to date.

It comes after the news that in under 10 minutes, Australian flag carrier Qantas sold out a scenic “flight to nowhere.”

Travel-starved Australians were eager to book onto the seven-hour sightseeing tour, which takes off from and lands at Sydney without touching down anyplace en route, paying for tickets between $575 (£445) and $2,765 (£2,145).

Read More: International Students Can Return to Australia by December

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Covid19: Australia in Talks over Quarantine-free Travel

Australia is looking to bring in quarantine-free travel for several nations with low Covid-19 figures

The government of Australia says it is on quarantine-free travel in talks with several other nations, but warns that Europe and the US are not going to be on the list.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison said the first deal would be with New Zealand.

Japan, Singapore, South Korea, and Pacific Island nations are other nations that may follow suit.

New Zealanders will be able to fly to some Australian states from Friday onwards – New South Wales, Canberra and the Northern Territories-without having to quarantine. But upon their return home, they would have to be quarantined in a hotel.

But, the borders of Western Australia are restricted to the rest of Australia. According to local media, the government there has said it could not reopen its borders until April.