When Australia will open border for international students

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If higher education has remained in your bucket list, then you made the right decision. Higher education in a reputed institution in abroad can be a life changing experience for you. It will certainly expand your knowledge, broaden horizon, improve communication skill and there are endless fun things associated with the experience of studying abroad. Australia has remained one of the best locations when it comes to higher education and research programs. A number of Australian universities sit among the top-ranked higher education institutions of the world. Australia houses veteran scholars and researchers whose work have been globally acclaimed. Not to mention the exotic travel destinations, laid back lifestyle, amazing beaches and strong economic growth which all have tempted many international students to make Australia their home.

And most importantly, given under the current context of Pandemic, Australia is among the safest places on earth till date. Along with a handful of other countries, Australian residents have been enjoying almost a restrictions free lifestyle when the rest of the world is badly suffering from the devastating impact of COVID-19. Thanks to Australia’s well-developed healthcare equipped with robust data-driven insight, geographical location and some good leadership decisions which all have contributed to the way Australia has tackled the pandemic situation. Australian people should also be thanked for being very tolerant and supportive to all the restrictions imposed by the state governments in various parts of Australia. Since pandemic began, Australia also have maintained a tougher border restriction for all incoming and outgoing travel to and from overseas. But the biggest sufferer of the strict border regulation has been international students whose hopes and aspirations to study in Australian has almost perished. Although the authorities have assured time to time saying that the borer restrictions will become easier soon, but there is yet to be any beacon of hope. So, the million-dollar question is – When Australia will open its border for international students?

And the answer, as unfortunate as it may sound, it is far-fetched. There is no immediate hope that Australia will open its border for international students. It is rumoured that the border restrictions for international students will not open until 2022. There is NO SPECIFIC date that suggests the expected border opening timeframe according to the federal education minister. Besides, what made the situation even worse is the divided opinion – which made the state governments behaving almost like separate countries as the state rivalry to close border intensifies. Currently, states are negotiating different plans to support the arrival international students. For example, New South Wales, the largest state of Australia is planning for alternative quarantine accommodation for international students. Other states are also devising strategies and plans with the ultimate goal to convince the federal government to support their plans.

Surely blocking the door for international students badly affecting the fourth largest industry and thousands of businesses connected to education and students. The yearly contribution of approximately $38 billion from the international students will create a big dent into the strong economy of Australia. It is without any doubt that mankind is going through one of the most challenging waves of time. And it has taken and continue to take its toll. But we cannot lose our hopes. We have to remain resilient and adaptive to the situation as Darwin says – not the strongest of the species who survived, but the one’s who are more adaptive to change.

While you wait when Australia will open its door to international students, here are some websites and links that will provide you with updated information about current travel and visa situation from authorised sources –

In the meantime, keep your search to other countries such as Singapore, Hong Kong, Canada, Malaysia who are starting to open their borers for international students. And above all, keep your learning spirit high by leveraging the power of virtual learning through platforms like – Coursera, Udemy, Udacity, Simplilearn.