The Australian city of Sydney will allow entry of fully vaccinated travellers from overseas travellers from overseas as of November 1 without the need to quarantine although the easing of strict entry controls will initially benefit only citizens.
The decision came on Friday as New South Wales state is expected to reach an 80% first-vaccination dose rate on Saturday, well ahead of the rest of Australia, which will enable it to bring forward the entry of overseas arrivals by several weeks. New South Wales Premier Dominic Perrottet stated, “We need to rejoin the world. We can’t live here in a hermit kingdom. We’ve got to open up.”
Australia had closed its borders in March 2020 in response to coronavirus pandemic allowing entry almost exclusively only to citizens and permanent residents, who have to spend two weeks in hotel quarantine at their expense.
Travellers will need to arrange a Visible Digital Seal (VDS) before they depart, to prove they’ve been fully vaccinated, including any covid booster shots, and there will be longer, patience-sapping queues at passport control booths – at least initially.
Aviation analyst and associate professor at RMIT Chrystal Zhang agreed, warning Australians are in for a “bumpy start” when international travel resumes.
“Australians should still dream and plan their overseas holidays,” Ms Zhang said, “but we need to expect some ups and downs until everything settles down.”
These are the key issues highlighted by our experts when we asked what international travel will look like once the borders open.
