Travel Exemption – Covid 19 care

The COVID-19 pandemic has affected everyone’s life and people in Australia are no exception. Very limited flights are currently available to and from Australia and you may not be able to travel at this time. All travellers arriving in Australia, including Australian citizens, must quarantine for 14 days at their own expense.? There are certain travel exemptions to enter Australia. A person cannot come to Australia unless he/she is in an exempt category or has been granted an individual exemption to the current travel restrictions. The majority of travel exemption requests to come to Australia are finalized within 7 days, but some complex requests may take longer. The exemption category includes Australian citizens, flight crew, cruise ship crew, unaccompanied minors, transit passengers, government diplomats, foreign diplomats, or medical grounds.

You need to apply online for an exemption at least four weeks but not more than three months, before your plan to travel which should include basic details like travel purpose, proposed residential address, and phone number in Australia, etcetera.

International tourists, especially the ones without family support, have been advised by the Australian government to return to their home country as soon as they can do so.

EXEMPT CATEGORIES

You become a part of the travel exemption to enter the Australia category (without obtaining an individual exemption) if you are:

• A citizen of Australia
• A permanent Australian resident
• An immediate family member of a citizen of Australia or a permanent resident
• A New Zealand citizen usually residing in Australia and their immediate family members
• An Australian diplomat (holding a subclass 995 visa)
• A traveller transiting Australia for 72 hours or less
• Airline crew
• The maritime crew including marine pilots
• Working under the Government approved the Seasonal Worker Program or Pacific Labor Scheme
• holder of a Business Innovation and Investment (subclass 188) visa

INDIVIDUAL EXEMPTIONS

You may be granted an individual exemption by the Commissioner of the Australian Border Force for travelling at the invitation of the Australian Government or a state or territory government authority to assist in the COVID-19 response. You can enter Australia if

• you are providing critical or specialist medical services
• you are a non-citizen with critical skills or working in a critical sector in Australia
• you are a non-citizen sponsored to work in Australia in an occupation on the Priority Migration Skilled Occupation List (PMSOL)
• you area non-citizen whose entry would otherwise be in the national interest
• you are military personnel, including those who form part of the Status of Forces Agreement, Commonwealth Armed Forces, Asia Pacific Forces, and Status of Armed Forces Agreement
• you are a student completing years 11 and 12
• you are travelling for empathetic and compelling reasons.

PROCESS

The travel exemption process is a simple two-step process:

STEP 1: The travel exemption application should be applied at least before four weeks, but not more than three months, before your planned travel.

STEP
2: Make sure that your application has the following details :

• details of the traveller: name, date of birth, visa type and number, passport number
• proposed residential address and phone number in Australia
• your reasons for coming and  why should you should be granted an exemption
• a supporting statement, setting out how you meet one of the grounds for an exemption
• accompanying evidence.

In case, you are not granted an exemption, you should not continue with your travel plans because you will not be permitted to board a flight to Australia and if you are granted a travel exemption, you must carry the evidence of that exemption decision to the airport.

How Can We Help:

• At Bansal Immigration Consultants, we can help assist you in assessing your eligibility
  for travel exemption to Australia if you want to bring your loved ones to be with you in this pandemic situation.
• We assist you in gathering the documents and preparing the statements that are required for
  the application process.

Why Wait, Contact Bansal Immigration Consultants today.