Covid-19 NZ: Border reopening to begin from late February, to proceed in five stages

New Zealanders in Australia will be able to skip MIQ and enter New Zealand from 11.59pm on Sunday the 27th of February, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has announced.

This will be the first of five stages of gradual border reopening, with Kiwis from all around the world let in two weeks later.

The returning Kiwis will have to be vaccinated and self-isolate – but won’t need a space in a Government-run managed isolation facility (MIQ). Critical workers in Australia will also be able to travel in.

From March 13 New Zealanders from the rest of the world will be able to return under similar conditions, alongside some critical workers, and their families.

These first two stages include both citizens and permanent residents.

In April non-citizens with visas – like international students and a wider swath of skilled workers – will be able to skip MIQ.

READ MORE:* Covid-19 Omicron: Border opening and future of MIQ to be revealed* Self-isolation model still on the cards, but no exact dates for border reopening given* Covid-19: Chris Hipkins talks to media before Cabinet meets on Omicron, MIQ

Then no-later than July the country is expected to open up to non-citizens from visa-waiver countries – like Australia, the USA, and UK.

Ardern emphasised that this could happen prior to July however, saying there was a “high-likelihood” things could move faster.

From October New Zealand would open up to the rest of the world and normal visa processing would resume.

Ardern said the February and March dates were very firm.

“We have no intention of changing those dates,” Ardern said.

At first arrivals will need to self-isolate for 10 days, but once New Zealand moves to “phase two” of the Omicron outbreak that period will drop to 7 days, meaning returning Kiwis will be treated the same way close contacts within New Zealand now.

They will be given three rapid antigen tests at the airport – one for use on day zero or one, one for use on day five or six, and an extra as a backup. Anyone who tests positive will be asked to get a follow-up PCR test.

Negative pre-departure tests will also be required.

Ardern said MIQ would remain for “high risk travellers such as those who are unvaccinated” – but it would slowly be transformed into a new National Quarantine Service.

She defended the use of MIQ, which has restricted entry to New Zealand for almost two years, saying it had been heartbreaking but had saved lives.

“The anguish of MIQ has been real, and heartbreaking. But the choice to use it undeniably saved lives,” Ardern said.

”MIQ meant not everyone could come home when they wanted to. But it also meant that Covid could not come in when it wanted to, either.”

She said there were safeguards that meant this reopening was safe.

“We will be as boosted as possible at the end of February, the phasing reduces the risk of a surge in cases, and travellers will be testing and isolating, with MIQ remaining for the unvaccinated. This means we will know quickly if a traveller has the virus including any new variants,” Ardern said.

She also said the self-isolation requirement would be reassessed and likely lifted eventually.

“The strong advice from our public health officials is that we still need it to manage our way through Omicron, but there will be a time in the not too distant future when that will not be the case.”

Fully vaccinated meant two shots of the vaccine – not the booster shot.

Ardern also confirmed that she herself would lead four trade delegations this year – to Australia, the USA, Asia, and Europe.

She said the stage two of the border reopening on March 13 would allow many critical workers in, and skilled workers making 1.5 times the median New Zealand salary.

”This means that health workers, farm managers, horticultural workers, tech sector professionals, those working for accounting services, in education and construction, will all be eligible to enter New Zealand, self-isolate for a short period and then go about their business,” Ardern said.

The Government has previously announced two border reopening plans and had to scrap them as outbreaks of new variants either at home or abroad scared them off – first Delta, then Omicron.

Ardern moved the gap between the second dose of the vaccine and the booster from four months to three months on Wednesday, making about a million more Kiwis eligible for the booster - which makes them far more protected from the Omicron variant.

That decision was deeply linked to the border reopening decision, as it allows more Kiwis to be protected, and it is hoped it will keep some strain off the healthcare system.

National Party leader Christopher Luxon said ending MIQ in its current form was the right call.

“National has been calling for the Government to end the lottery of human misery that is MIQ and we are pleased that New Zealanders offshore now have some light at the end of the tunnel,” Luxon said.

“I know there will be people who will be sceptical or nervous that the Government might not keep to these dates, so National will hold them to account and ensure they stick to these commitments.”

He said it was a victory for National’s petition to end MIQ which it launched late last year. National actually changed its position on ending MIQ after launching that petition, agreeing with the Government that a delay was needed because of Omicron, and removing the “now” from the title of the petition.