Great news! We finally have the announcement that the New Zealand borders will start to reopen in 2022.
The reopening will happen in 3 phases:
Phase 1
- Fully vaccinated Kiwis and other eligible travellers can travel to NZ from Australia without staying in MIQ from the end of February 2022 (as long as they have been in Australia or New Zealand for the past 14 days)
Phase 2
- Fully vaccinated Kiwis and other eligible travellers can travel to NZ from all other countries (except for very high risk countries) – date TBC
Phase 3
- All fully vaccinated individuals will be able to travel to NZ from 30 April 2022 onwards (date TBC), with the re-opening staged over time. The timing will be dependent on when the current border restrictions are lifted (and this may be phased by visa category).
Quarantine requirements
The three steps constitute a medium risk pathway. Instead of staying in MIQ, all travellers in phases 1 to 3 will still need:
- 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 seven days, and
- a final negative test before entering the community
Those who don’t 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 and will need to spend seven days in managed isolation, followed by three 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.
Read the announcement from Beehive.govt.nz
Read the updated phasing due to Omicrom on the New Zealand Customs website
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