This was published 2 years ago
Dual nationals rush to book flights after parents get the nod as immediate family
Wes Maljaars is one of the many foreign-born Australians planning a family reunion after the federal government decided to allow the parents of citizens and permanent residents to enter the country.
Mr Maljaars from Killarney Heights on the northern beaches of Sydney has not seen his parents in The Netherlands for three years and is making plans for them to visit next month. He then expects his mother-in-law to visit in January and his father-in-law later in the year.
Wes Maljaars and his wife Quin Rijnders and their daughter Elin are looking forward to a reunion with their Dutch family.Credit: Renee Nowytarger
“We’ll be like a hotel,” he joked. “It’s awesome. It’s that feeling when you go to bed, and you’re excited because it’s another day closer to being reunited again.”
The NSW and Victorian governments have also announced fully vaccinated international travellers flying into Sydney or Melbourne will no longer have to quarantine from November 1, while Tasmania says it will follow suit from December 15.
Mr Maljaars and his wife Quin Rinjders and their two children are also planning to take advantage of the new freedoms allowing Australians to travel and are considering making a trip to Europe at Easter.
For the past 19 months, since the border closed on March 20, 2020, the Australian government has allowed foreign nationals to enter if they meet the definition of an immediate family member of an Australian citizen or permanent resident and are fully vaccinated.
Dheepa Awtani holding five-month-old Deanna with her husband Dixit Awtani and three-year-old Deleena.Credit: The Age
However, while parents of dependent children met that definition, parents of adults did not. Australian citizens and permanent residents were also barred from leaving the country to visit their parents without an exemption.
Last weekend the federal government changed its definition to include parents of adult children, and from Thursday night it updated its forms so people could apply for exemptions under the new rules.
“For more than 18 months, many families with parents overseas have missed weddings, funerals, the birth of grandchildren, and other significant events,” Home Affairs Minister Karen Andrews said on Friday. “I thank these families for their patience and their sacrifice over this period.”
However, it is not clear how long it will take to process visas, with the Department of Home Affairs website advising most tourist (subclass 600) visas are taking eight months to process. However, a department spokesperson said it was prioritising visa applications for travellers who meet criteria for an exemption.
The website states the electronic travel authority (ETA) online system is unavailable “in line with Australia’s travel restrictions” but some people can apply for an ETA via a pilot app.
Australia has 4.4 million dual citizens and about 30 per cent of Australian residents were born overseas, while 50 per cent have at least one parent who was born overseas.
Dozens of Australians with family abroad said they are planning to bring their parents over, with many saying they had already booked tickets in the past week, even before it was possible to apply for the exemption.
Many have tried repeatedly to get their parents here on different exemption categories.
Dheepa Awtani from Wheelers Hill in Victoria made 12 applications for her parents to visit on compassionate and compelling grounds during her pregnancy and after the birth of her second daughter, with supporting letters from her psychologist, family services, employer and gynaecologist.
While inbound exemptions are rare in any case, in Ms Awtani’s case she was advised the applications were knocked back because of the risk of travel from India, despite the fact that her parents actually lived in the United States.
“It’s had devastating effects on my mind and body from which I’m yet to fully recover,” she said. “I really hope my parents get the exemption to travel while their visas are valid for me to forget the last eight dreadful months of my life.”
Other states still require 14 days of hotel quarantine and some Queensland families have said they are considering booking an Airbnb in NSW for a fortnight to avoid this requirement. For others this is unaffordable, so they are forced to wait until their state also drops quarantine.
The Department of Home Affairs website states the definition of parents of Australian citizens and permanent residents includes biological parents, legal (including adoptive) parents, step-parents and parents in-law. It does not appear to include adult children whose parents are Australian citizens or permanent residents.
The visitors will need to submit an exemption request providing evidence of the parental relationship and the adult child’s citizenship or permanent residency.
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