Chinese Tourists Rush to Extend Their Visas So They Can Stay and Can’t Return Home
Chinese tourists in Australia rush to extend their visas to avoid heading home to Wuhan, China where coronavirus has killed 563 people.
The 2019 novel coronavirus originated in Wuhan, China, a city with 11 million people is under lockdown to stop the spread of the deadly virus. Several counties decided to stop accepting direct flights from the epicenter of the virus.
Migration agents say they have been inundated with inquiries from holidaymakers desperate to stay Down Under. Tourist visas usually last three months but can be extended for up to a year upon request.
Legal experts say Chinese visitors will have a good case to extend their visas if travel restrictions due to the coronavirus outbreak make their journeys home difficult. Jennifer Zhu, a Sydney migration lawyer, said she has been working overtime to deal with a high volume of applications.
In a report of Daily Mail, Jinfeng Wang and Xikun Zhang, who left China to visit their daughter in Melbourne before the outbreak, are among those who want to extend their tourist visas. It comes as Virgin Australia cancels flights from Sydney to Hong Kong from March 2.
DFAT’s advice for Australians traveling to Hong Kong is to ‘exercise a high degree of caution’. All passengers entering or connecting in the city will have their temperatures checked and will not be allowed to board if they have a fever.
Other countries making tight safety measures to tourists boarding from Asia as the 2019 novel coronavirus outbreak continue to spread. Some of the countries ordered total ban and airlines canceled flights in and out of China.
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