BREAKING NEWS: When Will Australia Open Borders for International Students in 2021?
When will Australia open its borders for International students? It has been more than a year now since Australia closed its international border. People from all around the world must be wondering when the Australian Government will either allow them to reunite with their family or continue their study face to face.
During this pandemic situation, all activities, including the international education sector, are impacted. Many international students who plan to start their studies or who have returned to their home country to meet their family before Australia closed its border in March 2020 are stuck overseas.
The closed borders have given awful impacts for international students. This has been happening for way too long. Even requesting a Travel Exemption to study for international students takes a very long time and is really hard to get if the reason is not urgent. Not to mention the Travel Exemption criteria that are not in favour of international students holding a student visa.
The aim of the hard border is actually great, which is to decrease the COVID-19 cases. However, the social life of the students and their potential to increase their knowledge and skills in practical ways have been negatively affected. Most students cannot even cope with online classes since students have different learning styles.
So far, there is still no certain information for the exact date of when Australia will open its border for International students, and slowly go back to normal, but plans and programs to safely get back international students have been proposed, e.g. pilot plan program.
But when will the border open for international students?
Australia, under the pilot plans, will be ready to call back international students soon this year. The plans are being developed in NSW, SA and VIC, and we are now still waiting for the final review from the federal government. The pilot program plan has a strong aim to return international students safer, which is due to begin in the second half of the year.
Under the support of NSW Health and Police, international students will be allowed to return to Australia under the NSW pilot plan. During the pandemic, the pilot program has the important role to be the front line to welcome the international student. Australian Industry, Government and Community need to make a great partnership to make sure the plan is safe, secure and nation-leading for them.
There would be a range of criteria, and higher degree research students would be a priority as declared by the New South Wales Government. Around 250 international students would be welcomed per fortnight from mid-year as a trial and would increase to 500 students by the end of the year. If these pilot plans, including NSW, South Australia and Victoria pilot plans trials, could succeed and run as planned, the quota of international students coming to Australia would be increasing from time to time. The government hopes, through this pilot plan, that the Australian education sector could recover soon and eventually be able to support the recovery of the economic sector. This also will give a big hope for businesses in Australia that rely on international students.
Also read: Australia’s Reopening International Border for Students in 2021.
Should we worry about our health and safety when coming back to Australia as International Students?
“On arrival, the international students will be required to quarantine in purpose-built student accommodation under the same rules as for all international arrivals,” said State Treasurer Dominic Perrottet. The New South Wales Health already arranged the act to triage students for their arrival in the future. The student would be directed to the approved accommodation for their quarantine in two weeks for FREE. This applied in both South Australia and Victoria, too. Also, it will be followed by further consideration such as the rollout of vaccines, and other factors that need to be considered to ensure the safety of the community.
However, we still need to wait a little bit more for the final review from the Australian Federal Government. According to the spokesperson, after the federal governments have approved the plan for the first international students batch, the students will need to wait for another eight weeks to return back to Australia. Regarding the quarantine accommodation, the Australian federal government has approved a quarantine hub based at Parafield Airport with a capacity of up to 160 people that allows international students to return to South Australia.
Through the pilot plan, international students could have a big chance to get more experiences of world-class education training and research in Australia while expanding social networking with people from all around the world face-to-face. Other than that, the government will warmly allow the international students to know more about Australian culture and try new things in Australia to get the best experiences.
Also read: Study Options for International Students Covid-19 Coronavirus.
Does the pilot plan work for sure this time or will it be suspended like what has happened before?
After long waiting days and sickness of uncertainty when Australia initially closed its border, the 2021 pilot plan is the only answer that will allow international students to continue their study in Australia. Previously in 2020, the Australian government had announced that International Students could Return to Australia as soon as November on a Pilot Project, which was the first time when a small group of 63 international students successfully flew back to Darwin, Australia on a chartered flight.
Despite the successful ones, another pilot program to bring 350 students to Canberra from Asia in July 2020 that had been developed by the Australian National University and University of Canberra and backed by the federal and ACT governments had to be paused due to the uncertainty of the containment of COVID-19.
We really hope the best for the pilot plan this time. Hopefully, the COVID-19 cases will eventually decline so there are no more restrictions and the planned program can be successful. This plan will bring good impacts for the Australian government and international students specifically.
The border will reopen in the second half of 2021 for international students. Australia makes an immediate priority for returning international students by reopening the border, especially in New South Wales, SA and VIC, Australia. This will be a new hope that the education sector will return to normal again.
Despite the current situation in education and economic sectors during the COVID-19 pandemic, the Australian government and education institutions will work their best to have international students back to Australia immediately and safely. Please remember that you are not the only one in this situation, the Australian community is here to support you during this time.
So, what are you waiting for? Get ready to re-plan your study in Australia by preparing yourself!
Here at Education ONE, our consultants can advise you on your eligibility to study in Australia and current available options and resources based on your personal situation. Along with our in-house Registered Migration Agents, ONE derland Consulting, our Career Development Consultants will guide you, no matter how complex your circumstances are.
Book a FREE consultation NOW with one of our Career Development Consultants or contact us, education ONE Australia, through email at [email protected] or via phone at 1300 083 663.
