‘It feels almost naughty to leave’: For returned Australians open borders bring new dilemmas

The resumption of international travel pits new lives against old dreams for Australians who returned from overseas during the Covid-19 pandemic

To live and work overseas is a rite of passage for many Australians. Life abroad, however, took on a new sense of fragility with the rise of Covid-19. More than a million Australian citizens were forced to choose between riding out the pandemic in a foreign country, or returning to the relative safety of Australia.

Since March 2020, it is estimated about half of those living abroad chose to come back, while tens of thousands wished to return but were unable to.