Visas & Immigration is a popular topic at the Australian Frequent Flyer. When travelling overseas, you certainly need to have a good understanding of immigration procedures, including getting the required visas to the countries you are planning on visiting.
With the long-awaited trans-Tasman bubble launching next week, Qantas, Air New Zealand and Jetstar are preparing to ramp up their flights between Australia and New Zealand. In fact, trans-Tasman forward bookings are looking so strong that some airlines have already put more flights on sale than originally planned. But what happens if the bubble bursts? When … Continued
Kia ora, New Zealand! After more than a year of international border closures, Australians and New Zealanders will soon finally be able to travel freely between the two countries with the announcement of a two-way trans-Tasman bubble. From 11.59pm (NZ time) on Sunday, 18 April 2021, New Zealand will remove entry restrictions and quarantine requirements … Continued
From 1 April 2021, the federal government will subsidise 800,000 half-price domestic flights to encourage Australians to holiday interstate while international tourism remains non-existent. We don’t yet know exactly how these half-price flights will work, but we do know they’ll only be available on interstate routes. On one hand, it’s great that the federal government … Continued
For the first time in almost one year, there are no longer restrictions on interstate travel between any Australian states & territories as of this morning. This has not happened since Tasmania became the first state to close to all non-essential interstate travellers on 20 March 2020 – almost exactly a year ago. On that … Continued
Since 22 January 2021, anyone flying to Australia from overseas is required to get a COVID-19 PCR test no more than 72 hours before their first flight’s departure (and produce a certificate showing a negative result). This is in addition to the 14 days of hotel quarantine on arrival in Australia. “These [new measures] will … Continued
The Australian government has extended the outbound travel ban for a further three months. It means Australian citizens and permanent residents will continue to need a travel restriction exemption to leave the country until at least 17 June 2021 – three months later than previously announced – although it is likely that the travel ban … Continued
Australia’s international arrival caps continue to pose a huge challenge for Australians trying to return home from overseas without getting bumped from their booked flights. This was recently made worse by the Victorian government’s decision to suspend all international arrivals – effectively removing 1,310 hotel quarantine spots per week. In episode 54 of the AFF … Continued
Most Australian states will restore their international arrival caps to December 2020 levels from 15 February 2021, following a decision at Friday’s National Cabinet meeting. But Western Australia will retain its reduced arrival cap of just 512 passengers per week until further notice, as Perth emerges from a 5-day COVID-19 lockdown. From 15 February 2021, … Continued
Unprecedented cargo demand, fewer planes flying, limited staff availability and ever-changing border restrictions throughout the pandemic have wreaked havoc on freight shipments and postal delivery services worldwide. Some countries have even had to temporarily shut down international mail. So it’s no surprise that some international parcels are taking longer to arrive, or taking an unusual … Continued
Earlier this month, Qantas reopened international flight bookings for July 2021. But then, this week, Australia’s current and former Chief Medical Officers both said they didn’t expect regular international travel to Australia to resume until 2022. So, when can we expect some level of meaningful international travel to resume, and what will it take? Also in Episode … Continued
After a nightmare year, it seemed just one week ago that Australia was finally on track for all internal state borders to be reopened by Christmas. Until just a few days ago, there was only one remaining state border restriction in place, preventing South Australians from travelling to Western Australia. This was (and still is) … Continued
Australia’s international borders have been closed since March 2020, and will remain shut until at least 17 March 2021 after the human biosecurity emergency period was recently extended for another three months. But when will Australia finally reopen its international borders and allow Australians to travel overseas again without an exemption? The short answer is … Continued
