Novak Djokovic wins visa appeal, judge permits him to stay in Australia
Novak Djokovic won his visa appeal against the Australian government on Monday.
Australian Federal Court quashed the government’s decision to cancel the Serbian tennis star’s visa on Monday, ending his detention and appearing to clear the path for him to play in the Australian Open.
The 34-year-old was fighting deportation and the cancelation of his visa over the country’s strict COVID-19 vaccination rules. The government canceled his visa shortly after he arrived in Melbourne on Wednesday because officials determined he didn’t meet the criteria for an exemption to an entry requirement that all non-citizens be fully vaccinated against coronavirus.
Djokovic argued he didn’t need proof of vaccination because he had contracted the illness last month. Australian medical authorities ruled that a temporary exemption for the vaccine rule can be provided to people who had been infected with COVID-19 within six months.
Circuit Court Judge Anthony Kelly noted that Djokovic had provided officials at the airport with a medical exemption given to him by Tennis Australia, which organizes the Australian Open, and two medical panels.