From 11 August 2021, Australian citizens and permanent residents who ordinarily reside in a country outside Australia will not be automatically exempt from Australia’s outward travel restrictions.
From this date, they must apply for a travel exemption through the Travel Exemption Portal:
https://travel-exemptions.homeaffairs.gov.au/tep
Supporting evidence must be provided and may include:
- foreign government issued documentation, eg. foreign drivers licence, foreign government issued residency card
- evidence you have an established and settled home overseas, eg. tenancy/residential agreement, utility bills, rate notices
- evidence you are employed or have ongoing business interests overseas, eg. letter from your employer/employment contract in a foreign country, business tenancy agreement
If you are outside Australia and want to travel to Australia then return to your country of residence, you can apply for an outwards exemption before you arrive in Australia.
For more information, visit: https://covid19.homeaffairs.gov.au/leaving-australia
The Australian government expanded its ban on Australian citizens leaving the country to include people who are ordinarily residents in another country, meaning that people who live overseas also may not be allowed to leave Australia.
Currently, Australian citizens and permanent residents are banned from leaving Australia, and have to apply for an exemption to do so, which can be granted for employment, study, or compassionate reasons, among others.
However, if an Australian citizen is ordinarily resident in another country, they are automatically allowed to leave.
On 1 August, the health minister, Greg Hunt, amended the legislative instrument that created the overseas travel ban to remove this exemption – and further tighten rules on Australian citizens or permanent residents.
Effective from 11 August, even Australian citizens who are ordinarily resident in another country will have to apply for an exemption to leave the country, and could be denied.
The Department of Foreign Affairs defines someone as “ordinarily resident in another country” if they spent more time outside Australia than inside for the last 12 to 24 months.
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