Novak Djokovic told to leave Australia immediately after visa is cancelled

Novak Djokovic has been blocked from entering Australia after spending over eight hours in isolation following a visa mix-up, with the world number one told to leave the country immediately.

The Serbian, who has not publicly confirmed his vaccination status, flew out to Australia after being granted a controversial medical exemption to play at the Australian Open.

However, he was unable to pass through passport control after his team submitted the wrong paperwork and requested a sub-class of visa that does not apply to those who have received medical exemptions from a Covid-19 vaccine.

Australian Border Force discovered the error while Djokovic was flying from Dubai to Melbourne and he was detained for over eight hours, with reports in Serbia claiming he had two guards watching him and had his phone taken away for several hours.

Now the ABF have confirmed that Djokovic has had his visa revoked and has been instructed to leave the country on Thursday, though his lawyers are in the process of appealing the decision.

However, the ruling is not due to a paperwork mix-up but revolves around concerns over a lack of ‘appropriate’ evidence to support his vaccine exemption, while the ABF refuted suggestions Djokovic had his phone taken from him.

A statement from the Australian Border Force read: ‘The ABF will continue to ensure that those who arrive at our border comply with our laws and entry requirements.

‘The ABF can confirm that Mr Djokovic failed to provide appropriate evidence to meet the entry requirements to Australia, and his visa has been subsequently cancelled.

‘Non-citizens who do not hold a valid visa on entry or who have had their visa cancelled will be detained and removed from Australia. The ABF can confirm Mr Djokovic had access to his phone.’

Greg Hunt,…