New Zealand announces a 3-step plan for entering NZ without going into managed isolation and quarantine

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November 25, 2021

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Fully vaccinated New Zealanders and other eligible travellers can travel to New Zealand from Australia without staying in MIQ from 11:59pm on 16 January 2022.

Fully vaccinated New Zealanders will find it easier to come home from January 2022. From April 30, New Zealand will also re-open to fully vaccinated foreign nationals as the Government removes the requirement for managed isolation and quarantine (MIQ) for most travellers.

Covid-19 Response Minister Chris Hipkins said all travellers who are not required to go into MIQ will need to self-isolate for seven days. A Covid-19 test required on arrival will also be required as well as a final negative test before entering the community.

Travellers will also need a negative pre-departure test, proof they are fully vaccinated and a declaration about their travel history.

3-step plan for entering NZ without going into MIQ

For details around when travellers can enter New Zealand without going into MIQ:   

1. From 11:59pm on 16 January 2022, opening to fully vaccinated New Zealand citizens and those residence-class visa holders and other travellers eligible under current settings from Australia (provided they have been in Australia or New Zealand for the past 14 days).
2. From 11:59pm on Sunday 13 February 2022, opening to fully vaccinated New Zealand citizens and those residence-class visa holders and other travellers eligible under our current border settings, from all but very high risk countries.
3. From 30 April 2022 onwards, opening to fully vaccinated foreign nationals (possibly staged by visa category), .

Other eligible travellers

Eligible travellers include people who can enter New Zealand under current restricted immigration settings, for example:

• New Zealand citizens and residence class visa holders and their partners and/or dependent children
• the small number of temporary visa holders with a border exception — for example, critical health workers and other critical workers, people who have humanitarian reasons to travel to New Zealand, and people belonging to a class exception agreed to by Cabinet.

Further detailed information is available on the Immigration NZ website.

Border entry requirements | immigration.govt.nz(external link)

Requirements for those not going into MIQ

The border will open in 3 steps, and all travellers who do not have to go into MIQ will still require:

• a negative pre-departure test
• proof of being fully vaccinated
• a passenger declaration about travel history
• a day 0/1 test on arrival
• a requirement to self-isolate for 7 days, and
• a final negative test before entering the community.

Further details on how self-isolation will be implemented will be made available in December 2021, and include guidance on how people can travel from their arrival airport to their location of self-isolation and requirements for the places where they can self-isolate.

More information

• More detail will be provided in December 2021 for people holding existing Managed Isolation Allocation System (MIAS) vouchers for MIQ dates after the steps commence and on self-isolation for groups.
• For Step 1, agencies will work with airlines on implementing checks of passengers’ compliance with travel requirements, including vaccination status and pre-departure testing, ahead of a rollout of a digital Traveller Health Declaration System towards the end of March 2022.
• The availability of both New Zealand’s and Australia’s international COVID-19 vaccination certificates will support compliance checks. Immigration New Zealand airline liaison officers will be deployed on the ground as support in Australia.
• The 3 steps constitute a medium-risk pathway. Those who do not meet the requirements for medium-risk pathway, but are still permitted to enter New Zealand under current border settings, will continue to enter MIQ upon arrival under the new regime of 7 days in MIQ, followed by 3 days of home isolation.
• This will include those who do not meet vaccination requirements (including unvaccinated New Zealand citizens) and those from very high risk countries.
• The very high risk classification for Indonesia, Fiji, India, Pakistan and Brazil is to be removed in early December 2021 and travellers from these countries will be able to enter New Zealand on the same basis as travellers from most other countries.
• This allows New Zealand citizens and those residence-class visa holders and other travellers eligible under our current border settings to travel directly into New Zealand.
• Papua New Guinea will continue to be classified as very high risk. Only New Zealand citizens and dependants can travel directly to New Zealand.
• All travellers from Papua New Guinea must spend 14 days in a non-very-high-risk country before coming to New Zealand. Exemptions are provided for humanitarian reasons.
• The COVID-19 situation in these countries will continue to be monitored as part of a regular surveillance and assessment process.

Last update: 25th November 2021

Source: New Zealand Government

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