Greetings to all, I am a new member and also stuck in Australia trying to get back to Bali after leaving there in March to collect my retirement visa from the Sydney Indonesian Consulate but Australia then banned all travel so I held back to see how long the ban would last. The rest is history
It seems that the travel exemptions from Australia have changed recently and a lot of information can be obtained from the Department of Home Affairs '
Leaving Australia' website and '
Outward Travel Restrictions Operation Directive' from the department to the Border Control Force.
These make it clear that
'Ordinarily resident in a country other than Australia' is defined as '
you’ve spent more time outside Australia than inside for the last 12 to 24 months' which, I presume, means that less than 12 months cumulative in the last 24 would not qualify.
Also the 'more than three months' criteria is tied to the 'compelling reason to travel' criteria and it's not enough on its own to declare an intent to stay away longer than three months.
From the visa and tickets point of view the Australian authorities don't seem to care care about tickets or visas. The exemption application website states '
You do not need to have booked flights before applying for an exemption, and doesn't mention visas, probably because the airlines are responsible for ensuring that the travel can enter the country they're flying too otherwise they bear the trouble and expense of returning them.
As for visas, according to the
Indonesian Consulate in Sydney holders of ITAS and ITAP can still enter but they are not processing any other types of visa applications such as business, social or holiday.
A few days ago I emailed the Sydney consulate to ask if they would process my current retirement visa application and this was their response:
We are only authorised to process visa application for foreigner that have been given an exemption to be issued a visa to enter Indonesia.
The exemption approval/telex is issued by Immigration Headquarter in Jakarta.
I'm currently trying to find out if the visa agent in Bali who i used to get my retirement visa telex can get me an exemption from Jakarta or even if it's actually necessary as the email from the consulate visa department contradicts what the consulate website says i.e.
During border restriction, Indonesia Consulate General in Sydney only issues a visa which has been approved by the Indonesia Immigration Authority. The approval letter (Telex) is arranged by the company/sponsor/guarantor in Indonesia (Immigration HQ in Jakarta). At the moment we only process a Telex dated after 2nd April 2020.
That would seem to be a description of exactly what I have and the Sydney consulate said that my telex has been extended until November the 20th and will be valid for travel to Indonesia for 90 days from the date of issue so I've got time to work on it and will let everyone know if I succeed.