Anxiously waiting for those words. “The International Travel Ban will be lifted in November 2021”. The freedom: the possibilities of all those trips we have missed out on in the last 2 years. If you are anything like me; you would have jumped on the internet and started researching places to go, Let’s face it anywhere…everywhere; let me out of this country! However, don’t go racing to the airport just yet, you won’t get very far without being fully vaccinated and proof of a covid vaccination certificate. Many countries have already made it mandatory and most Australian airlines are requiring you to carry a covid vaccine passport for international travel.

The Australian Government has introduced an internationally recognized covid vaccine passport or certificate. The passport is available for Australians and Australian visa holders who are fully vaccinated. The idea is that once registered you will be given an individual QR code (said to be as secure as your chip in your passport) this QR code will be presented at check-in with the airlines and when departing/arriving in Australia. This QR code will eventually be compatible with travel apps like the IATA Travel Pass App which some airlines are using already. However, they have a few kinks to iron out first in the meantime you can still get your covid vaccine passport for international travel.

This is how to get your international vaccine passport

First, you need to receive two shots of the covid19 vaccine, once you are fully vaccinated the doctor will upload your vaccination status onto your MyGov Account. From there you will be able to see a covid vaccination certificate. You will need to have your vaccination certificate linked from your MyGov Account to your Medicare

To find this log onto your MyGov, on the home page there will be a quick link that says Proof of COVID-19 vaccination…Go to Medicare. This will take you to the Medicare site. This is where you will find your full COVID19 certificate under “Immunisation history”. From there you can download a PDF version of the digital certificate, this is fine for moving around Australia however it is not recognized internationally.

To get the covid vaccine passport for international travel, you will need to apply for the International COVID-19 Vaccination Certificate. To do so click the “Request a Certificate” button.

Step 1 

It will show you your vaccination history and you will be asked to confirm the details are correct

Step 2 

You will have to add your passport details to the certificate. You will need to make sure your passport has enough validity on it for international travel, if not you will have to apply for a new one. The form is case sensitive so make sure you put the letters that are in your passport number in capitals. The form will also prepopulate your name from your Medicare account, if your middle name is on your Medicare account it will only show it as an initial. If your middle name is listed on your passport, it must be entered in full in the application. Your name must be exactly the same as what is on your passport or they may reject your application.

Step 3 

You will be asked to verify and confirm all of the details are correct, once submitted it will be sent to the DFAT Department of Foreign Affairs and Travel.

Once approved you should be able to download the covid vaccine passport certificate in PDF form. You can store the covid vaccination passport on your smartphone or as a backup print out a copy.  The covid vaccination certificate will have a large QR code in the top left corner along with your full covid vaccination status.

This is what your Covid Vaccination Certificate will look like

Your covid vaccination passport does not mean that you are exempt from a country individual covid19 requirements. Many countries will still require you to quarantine, they might require proof of a negative COVID19 test along with the covid vaccine passport and some countries have specified that they only accept certain brands of vaccinations as valid.

It is your responsibility as a traveller to check out the embassy’s website and smart traveller before you travel to any country. If you need help or advice on this please reach out, we want to help.