Australia Reopens Borders After 2 Years, Fully Vaccinated S’poreans Can Enjoy Quarantine-Free Travel

Australia Reopens Borders & Welcomes Tourists On 21 Feb

After 2 years of living in the Covid-19 era, many of us have not travelled in a long time. Now, with Vaccinated Travel Lanes (VTLs), many can soon visit their favourite destinations once again.

On Monday (21 Feb), Australia reopened its borders to fully vaccinated tourists.

Over 50 international flights are set to touch down in the country throughout the day.

Some lucky travellers were even greeted by Austalia’s Tourism Minister Dan Tehan at the Syndey airport.

Australia reopens borders on 21 Feb

According to Channel NewsAsia (CNA), over 50 international flights are estimated to arrive in Australia, including 27 bound for Sydney on Monday (21 Feb).

Source

And that’s only the beginning as Australia opens its borders. There is an estimate of over 14,000 passengers on Qantas heading into the country this week.

Australia’s Tourism Minister Dan Tehan said it is an “exciting day” that he has looked forward to for a long time.

The minister even turned up at Sydney airport himself, greeting travellers with gift jars of Vegemite and stuffed koala toys.

Speaking to Reuters, he said he hopes for a strong rebound in the Australian tourism market.

Tourism is one of Australia’s biggest industries. The sector is worth over S$58 billion (A$60 billion) and employs 5% of Australia’s workforce.

The industry has suffered greatly since the country closed its borders to tourists back in Mar 2020, reported The Straits Times (ST).

Singaporeans must be fully vaccinated

Singaporeans can also look forward to travelling to Australia without quarantine.

Here are some things to take note of if you are planning a trip to the lands Downunder. According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA), to be eligible, you have to:

• Be a Singapore passport holder
• Hold a valid Australian visa
• Be fully vaccinated with a completed dosage of a vaccine recognised by Australia
• Provide proof of vaccination status
• Present a negative PCR Covid-19 test within 3 days of departure or ART test within 24 hours of departure
• Complete the Digital Passenger Declaration (DPD)

Short-term visitors to Australia can apply for a visa via the AustralianETA app. If you’re unsure which visa to apply for, you can refer here.

Currently, Australia’s Therapeutic Goods Administration recognises several vaccines including the Pfizer-BioNTech/Comirnaty, Moderna, Sinovac, Sinopharm, and AstraZeneca.

Singaporeans can also retrieve their vaccination certs through Singpass.

Trips to Australia have been dearly missed

It’s been a long time since we could travel to Australia. Holidays to the land of kangaroos and koalas have been dearly missed.

So whether you’re looking to snorkel at the Great Barrier Reef or climb the Sydney Harbour Bridge, do make sure you prepare the necessary documents.

Will you be travelling to Australia soon? Let us know in the comments down below.

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Featured image adapted from Caleb Russell on Unsplash.