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Australian citizens, permanent residents, and their immediate family members will still be able to return from overseas, but must self-isolate for 14 days.

The Tasmanian State Government also announced that it will impose a 14-day quarantine period for all non-essential travellers to Tasmania as of midnight tonight, 20 March 2020.

These restrictions will remain in place until further notice.

How does this travel ban impact you?

Note: This is general information only; seek the advice of a qualified migration agent or lawyer for how the restrictions apply in your individual situation.

If you are offshore ie. a temporary visa holder NOT in Australia

• If you can’t enter Australia before your visa expires, you will need to apply for a new visa once travel restrictions are lifted.
  
  
• If you can’t enter Australia for a new visa which requires you to be in Australia at the time of application or grant, you will need to apply for a new visa once travel restrictions are lifted.
  
  
• If you are applying for citizenship, you should check whether the travel ban restriction impacts your ability to satisfy the ‘general resident requirement’ (see below).
   

DO NOT attempt to travel to Australia if you are not an Australian citizen, permanent resident or immediate family member.

If you are onshore ie. a temporary visa holder in Australia

• If you wish to remain in Australia beyond the expiry date of your current visa, you must apply for another visa. An application should be made before your current visa expires. You may be eligible for a bridging visa, which will allow you to lawfully remain in Australia until a decision is made on your visa application.
  
  
• Some visas have a ‘No Further Stay’ condition (8503, 8534 and 8535) attached to them; however, the Department of Home Affairs (DHA) is being flexible with regards to processing requests for a waiver of the ‘No Further Stay’ condition, as well as timeframes around health, character and English language requirements.
  
  
• Permanent visa applications are still being processed.
  
  
• Avoid travelling overseas at this stage, as you will be unable to re-enter Australia.
  
  

DO NOT overstay your visa. If you do so, you risk being designated an ‘unlawful non-citizen’ and may be detained by the DHA.

If you are currently applying for citizenship

• The general residence requirement requires applicants to have been living in Australia on a valid visa for four years, including at least 12 months as a permanent resident, immediately prior to making an application. During the 12 months immediately prior to lodging a citizenship application, a person can be absent from Australia for no more than three months. As of today, there has been no indication that this requirement will be waived. This may impact applicants who have been prevented from returning to Australia.
  
  
• If further restrictions are imposed, applicants may need to prepare for the cancellation of citizenship interviews.

We are here to help

We are doing our best to look out for our clients. As such, we have decided to temporarily suspend all face-to-face meetings. Don’t worry - you can still reach us easily via our contact form or by phone on 02 9212 4008.

We also know it can be difficult for visa applicants and sponsors to keep up with the constant changes to immigration policies. That’s what we’re here for.

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    • Linda McCreath
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