Visa ban on Novak Djokovic lifted before Australian Open

• After the Australian government lifted a visa suspension, Novak Djokovic now has a free path to compete in the Australian Open.
• The Serbian tennis player was imprisoned in January as a result of his refusal to receive the Covid vaccine
• Ten days later, despite establishing a successful legal defence, he was deported from the nation

The nation had some of the harshest pandemic restrictions in the world, earning it the nickname “Fortress Australia” at times.

Covid cases were on the rise when Djokovic landed in Australia in January, and government regulations demanded that everyone entering the country be immunised unless they had a legitimate medical exemption.

According to the government, he did not match the entry standards, and as a result, his visa was revoked and he was immediately prohibited from entering the nation for three years.

The BBC has established that Immigration Minister Andrew Giles, whose government took office in May, has lifted the prohibition and is prepared to provide Mr. Djokovic a visa.

The head of Tennis Australia, Craig Tiley, expressed confidence that Djokovic would participate in the Open in 2019 earlier on Tuesday.

According to him, Novak wants to return to competing and play, as he told the Australian Associated Press.

“He loves Australia and has achieved the most success there,”

The tennis champion earlier this year told the BBC that he believed he had the necessary medical exemptions when he boarded the plane for Australia.

But on January 5 in Melbourne, he was stopped and questioned by border guards, and the next morning, his visa was revoked.
Djokovic was transported to a renowned hotel for immigration detention, where he stayed while contesting the verdict in court.

The decision to revoke his visa was ultimately overruled by the court, but the then-immigration minister, Alex Hawke, invoked special discretionary powers to do so again, claiming that doing so was “in the public interest.”

According to Mr. Hawke, Djokovic’s presence in the could cause “social upheaval” since he was “considered by some as a totem of a community of anti-vaccine sentiment,” according to court filings.

The decision was applauded by many in Australia, but it also caused a commotion among supporters who gathered outside his hotel and in Serbia.

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