ABSTRACT
Through critical theories of social exclusion and alienation, this chapter seeks to outline the difficulties that Australian citizens have faced on the subject of returning to their home country after Australia closed their borders in March 2020 as a reaction to the COVID-19 outbreak. I will investigate, analyse, and discuss both the Finnish and Australian responses to the COVID-19 pandemic. Using data collected from a focus group interview with five Australian residents in Finland, I employ phenomenology methods to analyse the data with reference to my research question: Do Australians feel as if they are incomplete citizens due to the Australian border restrictions? This chapter argues that Australians, who were not able to return before the national border closure in Australia and the cancellation of international flights, suffer from social exclusion in the form of incomplete citizenship and alienation from their homeland. Such alienation and exclusion can prevail and further distance and isolate Australian individuals overseas from their partners/family within Australia. Australian border forces limit the capacity of Australian citizens returning from overseas. Expenses of flights and self-financed quarantine in Australia are causing further difficulties for them to be able to return. © The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2022