International travel from Australia is returning Heres where you can go

DFAT’s Smartraveller warns that “every country or territory decides who can enter or leave through its borders. Being allowed to exit Australia “won’t guarantee you entry at your destination”. 

“It’s your responsibility to check well ahead of time what documentation and requirements are needed for overseas travel, including any necessary COVID-19 testing, a valid passport, a visa, any compulsory insurance, and proof of vaccination.” 

Which countries offer quarantine-free travel?  

There are “two major barriers to travel in COVID-endemic settings”, Mr Long said. 

“One is home or hotel quarantine. So the removal of that barrier [by some countries] is monumental in encouraging people to shop for travel,” he said. 

“The second barrier is making sure that you are able to return, and that confidence is going to build as people are travelling and then returning home safely.” 

A growing number of countries are offering fully-vaccinated Australian travellers the chance to visit without quarantining, or with less-stringent requirements, including: 

Thailand 

From 1 November, fully-vaccinated Australian travellers flying into Thailand won’t need to undergo mandatory quarantine. Instead, they will need to test negative to COVID-19 prior to departing Australia, and again upon arrival. Travellers will need to self-isolate in approved accommodation until the test results come through. 

Singapore’s government this week announced it would open up a new ‘travel lane’ for fully-vaccinated Australian travellers from 8 November. Under the arrangement, fully-vaccinated Australian citizens, permanent residents, and their family members will be allowed to fly to Singapore and return to Australia without undergoing quarantine, providing they provide the necessary proof of vaccination and have travel insurance. 

Travellers must also test negative for COVID-19 48 hours before departing Australia, and take another COVID-19 test upon landing in Singapore and self-isolate until the results come in. 

Students and business travellers from Singapore are also expected to be able to use the ‘travel lane’ to visit Australia without quarantining, but details of those arrangements are yet to be confirmed. 

United Kingdom 

Fully-vaccinated Australian travellers can travel to the UK without quarantining, unless they are travelling from one of the UK’s ‘red’ list countries outlined on the gov.uk website. 

Instead, travellers will be required to take a COVID-19 test on or before day two of their arrival in England, Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland. 

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