A student athlete studying at America's prestigious Yale University has revealed how easy it was for her to fly back home to Australia.
Tia Chitty, 19, who nailed an ATAR score of 88.5, journeyed to the US last October to start her first year of college in Connecticut, before returning to Perth three weeks ago for her school's summer break.
Although she has heard stories of Australians stuck abroad struggling to get home, Ms Chitty said her trip back to Western Australia was 'very smooth'.
In a video posted on Youtube, the track and cross country athlete detailed the processes she took to get back into the country to help others trying to get home.
As Australia's international borders are currently closed, Ms Chitty said the first step travellers needed to take was determine whether or not they qualify for an exemption.
Tia Chitty, 19, (pictured) has detailed the steps needed for her to return home to Perth three weeks ago after spending the past nine months studying in the US
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Exemptions apply to Australian citizens, permanent residents, immediate family members and travellers who have been in New Zealand for 14 days prior to departure.
'You need to apply for an exemption and you are automatically exempt if you are one of those four groups,' Ms Chitty explains.
The freshman said travellers can then book flights, which she said was a 'pretty straight forward', despite airlines limiting flight routes amid the pandemic.
'I've heard about all of the Australian citizens who are stuck overseas and can't get on a flight home because they keep getting bumped off flights for months,' she said.
'But my grandpa managed to book me a flight really easily. He said there was quite a lot flights available. They are more expensive than usual - some are ridiculous, like $15,000 for a one-way.
'Mine were more expensive than usual, but it wasn't ridiculously expensive.'
Ms Chitty, who flew with Singapore airlines, said travellers should take into consideration that they are required to quarantine at their first port of entry into Australia when booking flights.
She recommended flying directly to your
