COVID-19 Travel Bans Australia

Australia’s travel bans and restrictions impact visa holders in various ways. You may be wondering how you can extend your stay in Australia, whether you can obtain a travel exemption, or how the restrictions impact travel plans for skilled overseas employees or perhaps your family members. A consultation provides dedicated time with our migration agent to assess your circumstances in detail and advise on your available visa options to help you make a more informed decision. We also provide advice throughout the process of applying for a new visa if you decide you would like ongoing assistance.

In Australia, Temporary Visa holders must always hold a valid visa to remain lawful. If your visa is due to expire and you would like to stay in Australia, it is very important to apply for a new visa before the expiry date. In some cases, you may wish to consider a Visitor Visa, or depending on your eligibility, you could apply for a Family, Partner, Student or Work Visa. If you have a No Further Stay Condition on your visa, you may be able to request a Waiver for this condition before applying for a new visa.

It’s important to know the Government is strongly encouraging Visitor Visa holders, as well as Temporary Visa holders that do not have the means to support themselves, to consider returning to their home country. We understand it may not always be safe or easy to do so as more countries begin to implement travel bans. Given the Government’s stance on the matter, you may wish to get advice from a migration professional to understand your visa options to stay.

Do you need to travel to Australia? Or does your business require employees to enter the country?

Businesses and individuals have had to adapt very quickly to new travel ban and quarantine requirements. These restrictions may be with us for some time to come, although it is encouraging to see some social distancing restrictions begin to ease in some states. Currently, only very limited exceptions have been made for critical workers to enter Australia and people with compassionate or compelling cases (in addition to Australian Citizens and Permanent Residence Visa holders).

As you can see, approval needs to be sought from the Commonwealth Government for international travel ban exemptions, as well as from relevant authorities for interstate and intrastate travel. Applicants must present a well-documented case with sufficient evidence for meeting the exemption criteria. This also applies for exemptions for interstate and intrastate travel.

While travel ban exemptions are available to overseas employees that meet the requirements, employers need to plan for delays to their arrival. Delays are very likely at this stage, due to the need to satisfy new border procedures. Businesses also need to be aware of their sponsorship obligations as an employer of visa holders. This includes the need to disclose particular changes to work arrangements to the Department of Home Affairs.

Whether you have employees needing to arrive in Australia, or if you have personal reasons to travel to Australia, we encourage you to contact our migration agents to discuss your circumstances for an exemption on +61 8 9221 3388 or visa@interstaff.com

About Interstaff

Interstaff is an Australian owned and operated business specialising in providing comprehensive immigration advice throughout all stages of the visa application process. Our head office is situated in Perth, Western Australia, and we offer our immigration and visa services to individuals and businesses both Australia-wide and internationally.

We’re one of Australia’s most trusted migration and visa agencies in Perth for a number of reasons. With over 30 years of experience assisting with matters of various complexities, our dedicated team are committed to helping you navigate through what can be a very complicated visa and migration process. Our leading visa agents in Perth have been helping individuals and businesses obtain a wide range of visas including temporary and permanent work visas, partner visas, student visas and tourist visas. Read our insights on the impact of the recent travel ban for visa holders here or get in touch to discuss your visa options.