Friday morning bought good news for Melbourne residents Senthil and Rekha on two fronts.
First, Melbourne is lockdown free and second, they will be able to reunite with their parents after a gap of two years.
From today, parents of Australian citizens and permanent residents are eligible to apply for a travel exemption, for travel to Australia from 1 November 2021.
Minister for Home Affairs Karen Andrews said the changes would reunite many families separated by the pandemic.
“For more than 18 months, many families with parents overseas have missed weddings, funerals, the birth of grandchildren, and other significant events.
I thank these families for their patience and their sacrifice over this period,”
Minister Andrews said.
In a Sydney program while announcing direct flights to the Indian capital New Delhi Prime Minister Scott Morrison reminded about the fact that how important it was for the Indian Australian community to reunite children with their grandparents.
PM Morrison said, “I know, particularly in our Indian community, that (Uniting with parents) has been a very important issue for them, and I know that will be welcome, and Alan and the team will be flying them here with these wonderful new services going through Darwin. That’s great news for the Northern Territory as well.
Rekha is already collecting all the necessary documents required to apply the exemption for her parents.
My parents missed seeing the kids for almost two years given the International border closures. Having parents here creates such an excellent vibe for my kids and I get to relax a bit too 🙂
She told The Australia Today, “My twin boys are very eager to reunite with their grandparents.”
Minister Andrews rightly says, “With today’s change, parents of Australian citizens and permanent residents can reunite in Australia; they can once more hold their grandchildren and gather in-person to share life’s significant milestones.”
In line with Australia’s National Plan, as the national vaccination rate continues to climb Minister for Home Affairs intends to further ease travel restrictions over the coming weeks and months.
A variety of parental relationships are recognised for exemption, including biological, adoptive, legal, step-parent, and parent-in-law.
It is required when you apply for a travel exemption, you must provide the Department with evidence of your relationship.
Examples of evidence that you can provide
You need to provide evidence of your:
- immediate family member’s Australian citizenship or permanent residency, or
- immediate family member of a New Zealand citizen usually resident in Australia.
Evidence that you can provide include:
- Australian passport, Australian citizenship certificate and/or Australian birth certificate
- evidence of permanent residence in Australia
- evidence of New Zealand citizenship and usual residency in Australia; and
- you must provide evidence of your relationship to the Australian citizen, permanent resident or New Zealand citizen who is usually resident in Australia.
Parent of an adult Australian citizen or permanent resident can provide following as evidence for eligibility:
- Evidence that your adult child is an Australian citizen or permanent resident, such as:
- Australian passport
- Australian citizenship certificate
- Australian birth certificate
- evidence of permanent residence in Australia.
AND
- Evidence of your parental relationship with the Australian citizen or permanent resident, such as:
- birth certificate
- adoption certificate
- marriage certificate
- family status certificate or family book if officially issued and maintained.
Spouse
Examples of evidence that you can provide include:
- marriage certificate or other evidence that your marriage is valid in Australia
- evidence of a mutual commitment between the parties to the exclusion of all others, such as combined personal matters. This could include, but is not limited to, shared bank statements, loan agreements, utility bills, property contracts
- evidence of a genuine and continuing relationship, including documents that verify the length of the relationship
- evidence of a shared household showing that the individuals are living together, or don’t live apart permanently. This could include, but is not limited to, documents that show living arrangements or household bills are in both names
- shared responsibility for care and support of children.
De facto partner
Examples of evidence that you can provide include:
- evidence of a genuine and continuing relationship over a substantial period of time, including documents that verify the length of the relationship
- evidence of a mutual commitment between the parties to the exclusion of all others, such as combined personal matters. This could include, but is not limited to, shared bank statements, loan agreements, utility bills, property contracts
- shared responsibility for care and support of children
- evidence that the relationship has been declared to and accepted by other government bodies, public institutions and authorities, including the date it was declared
- evidence of a shared household, the individuals are living together, or don’t live apart permanently, including the timeframe they have been living together. This could include, but is not limited to, documents that show living arrangements or household bills are in both names.
Dependent child
Examples of evidence that you can provide for children under 18 years of age include:
- identity documents that prove the relationship between the dependent child and the Australian citizen, permanent resident or New Zealand citizen who is usually resident in Australia, such as a birth certificate
- adoption papers or court orders, if applicable
- proof of sole custody, if applicable.
Examples of evidence that you can provide for children who are 18 years of age or over include:
- evidence demonstrating that the child who is 18 years of age or over is completely or substantially reliant on their parent(s) for assistance, including:
- financial
- food, clothing and lodging
- medical and educational costs
- evidence demonstrating dependence on parents has continued for a substantial period of time
- evidence from a medical expert demonstrating dependence on parent(s), if applicable.
Parents and Legal Guardians of dependent children
A guardian, in relation to a child, is a person who has responsibility for the long-term welfare of the child and has all the powers, rights, and duties vested by law or custom in the guardian of the child, and may also have:
- the right to have the daily care and control of the child, and
- the right and responsibility to make decisions about the daily care and control of the child
Evidence in the form of your child’s birth certificate or legal documentation relevant to your case may be provided.
Things to consider when supplying evidence
When assessing exemption requests, the following information will not be considered in your favour:
- false or misleading information and documents representing circumstances that never existed or no longer exist
- inappropriate images.
Providing ineligible, irrelevant, unreadable, and/or duplicate information will delay the assessment process.
Information and documents should be written in English or accompanied by appropriate English translations.
Chat logs and/or social media posts may not, on their own, be enough evidence of co-habitation and may not prove a mutual commitment to an ongoing relationship. Applicants should consider providing other kinds of evidence to prove those matters.
Applications for a travel exemption can be made through the Department of Home Affairs Travel Exemption Portal, for travel to Australia from 1 November 2021.
Parents must also have a valid passport, visa, and proof of vaccination for travel to Australia.
However, all international travellers remain subject to state and territory quarantine arrangements of their disembarking airport.
