This loosening of Australia’s entry policy arrives slightly more than two years to the day that the government first slammed shut the country’s external borders to the outside world, as COVID-19 first gripped the globe.
The move places Australia in the company of a growing number of countries that have recently removed their testing or vaccination requirements, or even done away with COVID-era travel restrictions altogether, as vaccination levels have risen and infection rates have fallen. Off-limits to outsiders for almost two full years, Oz only reopened to vaccinated international travelers with testing requirements in place as recently as late February.
Neighboring New Zealand, which has maintained notoriously strict border bans since the start of the pandemic, is also preparing to launch its phased reopening plan. International travelers coming from visa waiver countries (including the U.S.) will be eligible to visit the dual-island nation quarantine-free from May 1. However, New Zealand will require travelers to be both fully vaccinated and carry proof of a negative pre-departure test, plus take a rapid antigen test upon arrival.
