On Wednesday November 24th, New Zealand’s Covid-19 Response Minister Chris Hipkins announced that from January 16th, 2022, the country will allow fully vaccinated New Zealanders to return from Australia without managed isolation and quarantine (MIQ). Travellers will still have to self-isolate for seven days.
From February 13th, the country will welcome fully vaccinated Kiwis from most other countries. From April 30th, the country plans to start welcoming all fully vaccinated travelers. This is likely to happen in stages defined by different visa categories.
Closing our border was one of the first steps we took to keep our country safe from Covid-19 and it’ll be the last thing we open up, following our transition into the traffic light protection framework system and lifting of the Auckland boundary
Chris Hipkins, New Zealand’s Covid-19 Response Minister
Hipkins announced that he border will open in three steps and all travelers not required 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 seven days, and
- a final negative test before entering the community
The dates for opening of borders logically follows the bedding in of the traffic light system, the lifting of the Auckland border, time for regions to get their vaccination rates higher still and for booster shots to be rolled out.
Further details on how self-isolation will be implemented will be made available in December, 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.
Some people and businesses want us to start to open up before Christmas but others want us to be more cautious. It’s been tough but the end of heavily restricted travel is now in sight.
Chris Hipkins, New Zealand’s Covid-19 Response Minister
For details around when travelers can enter New Zealand without going into MIQ:
- Step 1 – opening to fully vaccinated New Zealand citizens and those residence-class visa holders and other travellers eligible under our current settings from Australia from 11.59 pm on 16 January 2022 (provided they have been in Australia or New Zealand for the past 14 days)
- Step 2 – 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, from 11.59pm Sunday 13 February.
- Step 3 – opening to fully vaccinated foreign nationals (possibly staged by visa category), from 30 April onwards
Our current outbreak which now has over 7000 cases associated with it, stems from a single individual traveling from Australia to New Zealand
Chris Hipkins, New Zealand’s Covid-19 Response Minister
Since the outbreak of the pandemic, New Zealand deployed very strict measures to control the spread of Covid-19 contagions. Foreign nationals 18 and older are required to be fully vaccinated to enter. Bar some exceptions, all arrivals must quarantine for 14 days in a hotel.
