Prime Minister Scott Morrison said the action was part of a national effort to “reunite families and secure our economic recovery by opening our border to skilled and student visa holders,” as part of a national plan to “safely reopen Australia.”  

Australia Reopening

“From December 1, 2021, fully vaccinated eligible visa holders will not need to seek for a travel exemption to visit Australia.” Eligible visa holders include skilled and student cohorts, humanitarian, working holiday maker & provisional family visa holders, according to Morrison.

“The return of skilled workers and international students to Australia will help in our economic recovery by supplying the necessary workforce for our economy and supporting our vital education sector,” he continued.

Travellers must be completely vaccinated with a vaccine licenced by Australia’s Therapeutic Goods Administration under these terms (TGA). TGA recognises both Covishield and Covaxin, the two primary vaccines utilised in India’s vaccination program.

Morrison also announced that, from December 1, citizens of Japan and South Korea with valid visas will be able to travel to Australia without having to go through quarantine.

Foreign students, including Indians, will be able to return to Australia between the end of this year and the beginning of 2022, ahead of the commencement of the first semester in February-March, according to Australian officials.

Dr. Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank, the Union Cabinet Minister for Human Resource Development announced on twitter that considering the current #covidcrisis in the world & upon receiving requests from many international students, we have decided to postpone the IND-SAT exam that was initially scheduled for 30 May’20 to July’20. The date of the examination will be announced soon.

IND- SAT exam is held for those international students who want to study in India. The IND-SAT scores will serve as a criterion to shortlist the meritorious students for the allocation of scholarships. The IND-SAT 2020 exam was scheduled to take place in countries Bangladesh, Bhutan, Ethiopia, India, Indonesia, Kenya, Mauritius, Nepal, Rwanda, Sri Lanka, Tanzania, Uganda, and Zambia. Now it has been postponed due to the COVID crisis.