Australia after reporting
its first cases of the Omicron coronavirus variant closed its
international border by two weeks from December 1, 2021, onwards.
International students
remained in uncertainty after Australia delayed the border reopening plan due to the Omicron variant. About 200,000 workers and students were expected to travel to Australia from December onwards, but the travel restrictions imposed by the Australian
government ruined their expectations.
When will the Australian
border reopen for foreign students and skilled workers?
Australian Health Minister
Greg Hunt confirmed that the
delayed border reopening for students and skilled labour would go ahead on 15
December, as announced on November 29.
From December 15, students and skilled workers will be able to return to Australia without needing to apply for a travel
exemption.
The Australian government took
this step keeping in mind their dependency on foreign students and
skilled workers. Due to this
unexpected delay, many people felt devastated, especially those who were on
temporary visas.
India is the second-largest
source of foreign students in Australia, after China. More than US $6.6
billion have been contributed by Indian students to the Australian economy. Australia
used to be the favoured destination for students from Punjab a few years
back. Now, they prefer to go to Canada and reside there. More than one lakh
students used to fly every year to Australia from India, mainly from Punjab.
Their difficulties do not come
to an end here. Many Australian universities have raised their fees. People
were already suffering due to financial problems caused by corona. Now, this
fee raise has become another obstacle in the path of the students.
Ms. Jaspreet Kaur shared her painful experience saying that she has paid the entire fees of the course to the university for the next semester and her visa is about to expire on 18 December, due to this restriction she won't be able to travel to Australia. As Australia is opening its border, she is facing issues due to a hike in the fees.
Many international
students who were on temporary visas lashed out at the Australian government
saying that the government doesn’t think about us once while taking such decisions.
Due to corona, they were already facing a financial crisis and such steps will
increase their miseries.