Djokovic set to be granted visa to play Australian Open
Novak Djokovic is set to be granted a visa to play in next year's Australian Open despite his high‐profile deportation in January.
The Australian Broadcasting Corp. on Tuesday said it had con‐ firmed newspaper reports that the immigration minister had overturned a potential three‐ year exclusion period for Djokovic.
The Australian Border Force has previously said an exclusion period could be waived in cer‐ tain circumstances — and that each case would be assessed on its merits.
Immigration Minister Andrew Giles' office declined comment on privacy grounds, meaning any announcement on Djokovic's visa status would have to come from the 35‐year‐ old Serbian tennis star.
The 21‐time Grand Slam sin‐ gles champion wasn't allowed to defend his Australian Open title this year after a tumultuous 10‐ day legal saga over his COVID‐19 vaccination status that culmi‐ nated with his visa being re‐ voked on the eve of the tourna‐ ment.
Djokovic arrived at Melbourne Airport as the world's top‐ ranked tennis player with a visa he'd obtained online and what he believed to be a valid medical exemption to the country's strict laws for unvaccinated travelers because it was endorsed by Ten‐ nis Australia and the govern‐ ment of Victoria state, which hosts the tournament.
Confusion reigned, generating global headlines. As it tran‐ spired, that medical exemption allowed him entry to the tourna‐ ment, which required all players, fans and officials to be vacci‐ nated for the coronavirus, but not necessarily to enter the country. It was rejected by the Australian Border Force.
Alex Hawke, Australia's immi‐ gration minister at the time, used discretionary powers to cancel Djokovic's visa on charac‐ ter grounds, stating he was a "talisman of a community of anti‐vaccine sentiment."
Australia has had a change of government and changed its border rules this year and, since July 6, incoming travelers no longer have to provide proof of COVID‐19 vaccinations. That re‐ moved the major barrier to entry for Djokovic.
It allowed him to apply to new Immigration Minister Andrew Giles to reconsider his visa sta‐ tus. In his favor, Djokovic left Australia quickly after his visa was revoked and has not pub‐ licly criticized Australian au‐ thorities.
As the Department of Home Af‐ fairs website explains, appli‐ cants in Djokovic's circumstances must explain in writing to Australia's border au‐ thorities why the exclusion pe‐ riod should be put aside — "you must show us that there are compassionate or compelling circumstances to put aside your re‐entry ban and grant you the visa."
Djokovic indicated Monday at the ATP Finals in Italy that his lawyers were communicating with the Australian government with a view to him contesting the Jan. 16‐29 Australian Open.