Avoid Australia if you have been to China recently

On February 13, the Australian Government has made an announcement to the effect that travel restrictions – imposed earlier in view of the Coronavirus outbreak – shall be maintained for a further 7 days from February 15, 2020.

If you are planning on going to Australia sometime soon, do make a point of not visiting or even transiting through Mainland China in the few days before entering Australia.

By “Mainland China”, also referred to as Chinese mainland, is meant the area that is directly under the jurisdiction of the People’s Republic of China [PRC]. Mainland China does not include the Special Administrative Region [SAR] of Macau and Hong Kong.

Australia will deny entry to any foreign national that has transited through or been to Mainland China within the last 14 days prior to the date of attempted entry into Australia.

This shall apply to all foreign nations, irrespective of nationality.

Exceptions to the denied entry are – permanent residents and citizens of Australia; citizens of New Zealand that are living in Australia; immediate family [spouses, legal guardians and minor dependents] of citizens and permanent residents of Australia; and diplomats.

If you have been to mainland China in the previous 14 days and do not come under the exceptional cases list, you are advised to not travel to Australia for the time being.

If you attempt travelling to Australia, your airline will not permit you to board the flight.

If, however, you do arrive in Australia and it is established that you had been in Mainland China in the past 14 days, your visa will be cancelled.

As per the Department of Home Affairs, temporary visa holders that are ineligible for entry into Canada and have not been exempted under any of the afore-mentioned categories, will have their visas cancelled if they attempt travelling to Australia.

The visa cancellation will be done in view of the enhanced border control measures.

As on February 18, 2020, Australia has 15 confirmed cases of Coronavirus in the country. While there are 5 cases in Queensland, 4 each have been reported from Victoria and New South Wales. Another 2 have been reported from South Australia.

Each of the cases reported had a link, either direct or indirect, to Wuhan city in the province of Hubei in China.

Enhanced border control measures have been imposed by Australia in view of the Coronavirus outbreak as a means of safeguarding and ensuring the safety, health, and well-being of the Australian community.

The measures are temporary and will be reviewed as the situation progresses.

If you are looking to Study, Work, Visit, Invest or Migrate to Australia, talk to Y-Axis, the World’s No.1 Immigration & Visa Company.

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