Stephane Menard can't wait to give his mum a big hug.
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The Port Macquarie resident has booked flights to travel to his hometown Quebec, Canada on Sunday, October 17.
The Australian Government is preparing to remove the current overseas travel restrictions related to COVID-19 in November.
This will allow fully vaccinated Australians to travel overseas, subject to any other travel advice and destination border restrictions. It will also assist Australians overseas to return to Australia.
Mr Menard has been trying to return home for months to see his family, after his father passed away and his mother underwent heart surgery.
Since January he's applied for an exemption to travel twice but has been declined both times.
Two weeks ago Mr Menard received the news he'd been waiting for.
"I found out my travel exemption had been approved so I booked my flight straight away," he said.
Mr Menard is planning on spending a couple of months in Quebec, where he will attend his father's funeral and support his mother through her recovery after surgery.
"My family has been waiting for me to return so we can all say farewell to my father," he said.
"I also want to help my mother clean up the house and potentially sell it, so she can move to a one storey place instead."
Mr Menard moved to Port Macquarie over three years ago, under the impression he would be able to travel anytime if his family needed him.
However, then the coronavirus pandemic hit making it extremely difficult for people to get permission from the Australian Government to travel overseas.
"Just not having that option anymore was the biggest challenge," Mr Menard said.
The process of applying to travel overseas has been frustrating and emotionally draining for Mr Menard.
"I had this feeling like I was going to be stuck here," he said.
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