In order to transit through Australia during the coronavirus pandemic, you must either hold a valid visa or be from an eligible country to Transit Without a Visa (TWOV). If you are from an eligible country (see eligible countries listed below) you can transit through Australia on your way to a third country without an Australian visa as long as you tick all the requirements below:
- You arrived in Australia by aircraft
- You have a confirmed ticket to leave Australia to travel to a third country by aircraft within 8 hours of arriving
- You have valid travel documents to enter that country
- You do not require immigration clearance
- You do not leave the airport transit lounge for any reason before boarding your onwards flight
You will be eligible if you are a citizen of:
- Andorra
- Argentina
- Austria
- Belgium
- Brunei
- Bulgaria
- Canada
- Chile
- Croatia
- Cyprus
- Czech Republic
- Denmark
- Estonia
- Federated States of Micronesia
- Fiji
- Finland
- France
- Germany
- Greece
- Hungary
- Iceland
- Indonesia
- Ireland
- Italy
- Japan
- Kiribati
- Latvia
- Liechtenstein
- Lithuania
- Luxembourg
- Malaysia
- Malta
- Marshall Islands
- Mexico
- Monaco
- Nauru
- Netherlands
- New Zealand
- Norway
- Oman
- Palau
- Papua New Guinea
- Philippines
- Poland
- Portugal
- Qatar
- Romania
- Samoa
- San Marino
- Singapore
- Slovakia
- Slovenia
- Solomon Islands
- South Africa
- South Korea
- Spain
- Sweden
- Switzerland
- Thailand
- Tonga
- Tuvalu
- United Arab Emirates
- United Kingdom (including its colonies)
- United States of America
- Uruguay
- Vanuatu
- Vatican
You will also be eligible if you are a resident of:
- Hong Kong who holds a Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) passport or a British National Overseas (BNO) passport
- Taiwan who holds a passport issued by the authorities of Taiwan (other than passports purported to be official or diplomatic passports)
- Indian who holds anofficial Indian passport
Other than this, you can also be eligible if you are a diplomatic passport holder. But note, there are restrictions for this. Alternatively, if none of the above applied to you, and you wish to transit through Australia during this time, you can apply for a Transit visa (subclass 771) which allows you to transit through Australia for a limited time of only up to 72 hours while you wait for your onwards flight.
Exceptions that do not require a transit exemption:
If you are a:
- New Zealander on a Special Category visa (Subclass 444)
- Citizen of a Pacific Island Forum country
- Timor Leste citizen
- Resident of New Caledonia or French Polynesia
You are not required to hold a transit exemption if you have booked a connecting flight to leave Australia within 72 hours of your arriving flight.Due to domestic travel restrictions, your outbound connecting flight must be departing from the same airport in Australia as your arrival flight, unless an exemption has been granted. Please note, that if your connecting flight means you will spend longer than 72 hours, you are not considered to be transiting Australia and will need to apply online to the Commissioner of the Australia Border Force for an exemption from the travel restrictions.
Our Registered Migration Agents at Migration Centre of Australia have been in the migration industry for many years and have helped thousands of clients onshore and offshore. We are trained professionals in Australian Migration Law and we are trusted providers in the industry for our services. If you wish to know more about transiting Australia during this time or you require assistance with applying for a Transit Visa (subclass 771), contact us today on (02) 4626 1002 or send us an email at info@migrationcentreofaustralia.com.au and one of my registered migration agents will be ready to help.