Australia to reopen borders "in coming weeks" after 18 months of closure

01 October, 2021

Australia will start reopening its borders next month, Prime Minister Scott Morrison said on Friday (October 1), 18 months after citizens were banned from traveling abroad without permission. Scott Morrison said vaccinated Australians could return home and travel abroad "in the coming weeks" once the 80% vaccination targets are met. “The time has come to give back their lives to the Australians. We are preparing for it, and Australia will be ready to take off, very soon, ” said Scott Morrison. He added that vaccinated residents could be in home quarantine for seven days upon their return, avoiding the mandatory and expensive 14-day hotel quarantine currently imposed.

On March 20 last year, Australia introduced some of the world's toughest border restrictions in response to the coronavirus pandemic. In the past 560 days, countless international flights have been grounded, overseas travel has been kept to a minimum. Families have been separated on several continents, with nationals stranded abroad while foreign residents were stranded in the country, unable to see their friends or relatives. According to data from the Interior Ministry, more than 100,000 requests to enter or leave the country have been refused in the first five months of this year alone.