New Zealand's borders set to reopen in stages

By the Re: team

MIQ will soon be removed for most travellers as New Zealand's border is set to reopen in stages, starting from February 27.

And by October 2022, the Government will reopen its borders to visitors from anywhere in the world.

Here's the details:

The border will reopen to vaccinated New Zealanders and other current eligible travellers from Australia on February 27 at 11.59pm.
The border will then reopen to New Zealanders in the rest of the world from March 13.
New Zealand will be open to anyone from Australia for visa-waiver travel by July 22.
By October 2022, the border will fully reopen to visitors from anywhere in the world and all visa categories will fully reopen.
MIQ will be removed for most travellers and will be replaced by self-isolation and tests on arrival.
MIQ will be people are unvaccinated
A five-step plan by the Government will soon be put in place to prioritise returning New Zealanders and the reopening of key visa categories in order to address worker shortages
More visa categories will reopen throughout the year to help with the country's economic recovery.

Covid-19 Response Minister Chris Hipkins and Immigration Minister Kris Faafoi made the announcement on Thursday, with Hipkins saying "this is a very carefully developed plan that replaces MIQ for the vast majority of travellers while ensuring we maintain ongoing measures to reduce the spread of COVID-19 in our community from recent arrivals".

“With 94 percent of our population fully vaccinated, and 92 percent of those over 18 now eligible for a booster by the end of February it’s time to shift gears in our COVID-19 response to focus on reconnection and recovery," Hipkins said.

“By reducing the gap to get boosted to three months we’re ensuring we reach our highest possible boosted rates before fully reopening."

"By the time we start to reopen our border, we’ll be one of the most vaccinated and most boosted countries in the world and the Covid-19 Protection Framework will be well established in helping to manage Covid outbreaks," Hipkins said.

“A phased approach to reopening reduces the risk of a surge of cases, while prioritising the return of New Zealanders and much needed entry of skilled workers."

“Having MIQ for every traveller was a temporary setting for when none of us had protection. New Zealanders need to reconnect with one another. Families and friends need to reunite. Our businesses need skills to grow. Exporters need to travel to make new connections,” Hipkins said.

Here are the details on the five-step plan:

Step 1: From Sunday, February 27 at 11.59pm, the border will reopen to New Zealanders and other eligible travellers from Australia.

Step 2: From Sunday, March 13 at 11.59pm, the border will reopen to New Zealanders and other eligible travellers from the rest of the world. New Zealand will be open to skilled workers earning at least 1.5 times the median wage and to Working Holiday Scheme visas

Step 3: From Tuesday, April 12 at 11.59pm, the country will open itself to current offshore temporary visa holders who can still meet the relevant visa requirements, up to 5000 international students for semester 2 and critical workforces that do not meet the 1.5 times the median wage test will be considered.

Step 4: New Zealand will open to anyone from Australia, visa-waiver travel by July 22.The Accredited Employer Work Visa will open, meaning the skilled and health worker border exception can be phased out.

Step 5: By October 2022, the border will fully reopen to visitors from anywhere in the world and all visa categories will fully reopen.

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern speaks about NZ's 'reconnecting plan'

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said with plans in place for the spread of Omicron and yesterday's decision to reduce booster wait times to three months, it was time to move again.

"While we will no longer require people to enter managed isolation, at this stage travellers will be asked to follow broadly the same requirements we have in New Zealand for close contacts at the time of their travel.

"That’s because, as travellers, it is highly likely that they’ll come in contact with the highly transmissible Omicron variant on their journey, a fact you can see in our current numbers at the border, even with pre departure testing in place."

Returning New Zealanders will need to self-isolate for 10 days but as the isolation period for close contacts drops in New Zealand, as it does in phase two of the country's Omicron response, returnees will only need to isolate for 7 days.

"When it comes to testing, all arrivals will be given three rapid antigen tests upon arrival at the airport, to take home. One for use on day 0/1, and one for use on day 5/6, with one extra for backup. That gives us the best chance of identifying cases that have come across the border," Ardern said.

"If a positive result is returned at any point, returnees will be asked to get a follow up PCR test at a community testing station. That will help us to monitor any possible variants that may emerge. It will also help us assess when it’s safe to lift self-isolation requirements."

Ardern said "with our community better protected we must then turn to the importance of reconnection. Families and friends need to reunite. Our businesses need skills to grow. Exporters need to travel to make new connections".

"Today’s reconnecting plan will help grow an already strong export base, bring in new skills, address the shortages standing in the way of growth, and build new connections with the world.

"It’s part of moving forward. But that doesn’t mean a return to life before Covid when we can be better than that."

"Covid laid bare our unsustainable reliance on temporary migrant labour. Immigration will continue to be a part of our economic story, but we have the opportunity now to build resilience into our workforces while also attracting the skills and talent we need," Ardern said.

Ardern said "we are vaccinated, increasingly boosted, and continue to prepare ourselves at home and work with a plan".

"And so now it is time, to move forward together, safely."

Top Image: Person in a mask looking at flight information at the airport. (File photo) Photo: Maria Korneeva/iStock

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