Originally Posted by
rattman
Pretty sure thats wrong if you are
PR of australia you need permission to leave. Not sure what they would a do if you left on another passport but you must get permission to leave
If you are an Australian citizen or a permanent resident you cannot leave Australia due to COVID-19 restrictions unless you have an exemption. You can apply online but you must meet at least one of the following:
Permanent Residents of Australia who need to travel overseas.
A few observations for anyone (like me) who is trawling websites from time to time for reliable or updated information. Some in the forum may find my own circumstances irritating or even offensive, especially those who wish to see their friends or loved ones return from overseas. I do sympathise, but my own circumstances are what they are, and I apologise if anything in this post gets your goat.
Firstly, permanent Residents of Australia must obtain permission to leave the country, only those who are ‘ordinarily resident’ outside of Australia (as at the time of writing),
and have spent more time outside Australia (than in Australia) in the 12 to 24 months prior to their Australian departure date - are able to travel overseas without gaining permission. There is a definition of ordinarily resident in the lower part of this page
https://covid19.homeaffairs.gov.au/leaving-australia
Most, therefore, will need permission.
NB In addition to the above, it would be unwise for a permanent resident to leave Australia without a valid resident return visa. The RRV typically sits alongside your permanent residence status and is what allows you to re-enter Australia. RRVs can be granted whilst the applicant is overseas, but qualification criteria exist, including having spent 2 in the last 5 years onshore, in Australia.
I do not know of a connection with “other passports” as is alluded to in this thread. I imagine, that if you have an Australian passport, you are not a permanent resident, but have the status of an Australian citizen. If that is the case, the above information may not apply, and you should verify your status before making travel plans.
Despite the non-requirement for advance travel permission for permanent residents who meet the above criteria (ordinarily resident overseas), a permanent resident wishing to leave the country must be ready to prove (at the airport) that they are ordinarily resident outside of Australia, and be prepared to be questioned at the Australian departure airport. You will be first questioned by the police, who will then direct you to the immigration dept. officers to question or clear you. The check-in staff will then call through to obtain a release number (from Canberra) before your ticket is handed to you.
My advice would be to check with a registered migration agent (MARN) before making travel arrangements or going to the airport, personal circumstances often vary, and a quick call could avoid a lot of upset and aggravation.
I have flown backwards and forwards with both SQ (very limited and complex transit situation with constantly changing rules in Singapore) and Qatar. SQ would typically be my ‘go to’ and have been for 14 years. I have booked with SQ three times since COVID hit and have had to cancel or re-scheduled twice as circumstances, rules etc. have changed. I have never flown with Qantas, or EK, but can only imagine what an EK temporary withdrawal will do to already very high prices and availability.
I flew from London to Australia in Feb ‘20 (pre-quarantine), July (quarantine) and November ’20 (quarantine), and - specifically on the last occasion - I met numerous Australians (and kiwis) in the transit area in Singapore, where many were swapping stories. I felt (frankly) ashamed that I was somehow managing to commute back and forth at a time when so many others had experienced huge challenges and stress simply trying to find or pay for a flight. I could see in the eyes of many that they had been through a very stressful experience first trying to make ends meet without a job, then finding flights, often navigating the same ‘fluid’ situation I had. Some had paid off-the-scale prices for one-way flights in economy. Others had been forced to buy business tickets they could not afford. It was a confronting situation. In some instances, the people I met had worked in travel or hospitality in Europe, and had lost their jobs at the very start of the pandemic, then waited months to find a flight or way ‘home’, for which they had been forced to beg or borrow the fair. I have heard and read horror stories of Australians stuck in London sofa surfing. One kiwi said to me "I don't care about quarantine, it will be like a holiday, and for the first time in months I can spend 2 weeks not worrying how I am going to eat".
My own commentary is to provide some first-hand experience on travel for permanent residents, but also, I hope, to shine a light on theories that a majority of Australians stuck overseas are in that situation because it suited them to remain, or that they made that choice. I am not sure that this is the case, at least it was not for those I met.