Covid-19 NZ: How New Zealand's five-step border reopening will work

EXPLAINER: The Government has unveiled its new plan to reopen the country to vaccinated travellers from all over the world in five stages across 2022.

This will end the requirement for most people to get a managed isolation (MIQ) spot, which have been severely limited.

Travellers will instead have to self-isolate at home – first for 10 days, then for seven. All of the groups would need to be vaccinated against Covid-19 - but not boosted.

READ MORE:* The end of MIQ: How self-isolation for travellers will work * Covid-19 NZ: Border reopening to begin from late February, to proceed in five stages

Here are all the five stages and your questions answered about how they will work.

February 27 – Kiwis in Australia

From 11.59pm on February 27 New Zealanders in Australia will be able to arrive here without going into MIQ.

This includes both citizens and permanent residents of New Zealand. Partners and dependent children of citizens and permanent residents in Australia will also be included, although evidence will be needed to prove this relationship.

Also included are a host of critical workers currently eligible under various border exceptions, coming from Australia. This includes critical health workers, dairy workers, teachers, tech workers, and several other professions, listed in the document below.

March 13 – Kiwis anywhere

From 11.59pm on March 13 the rules for Australia are essentially widened to the rest of the world.

Kiwis from anywhere – whether citizens or permanent residents – can skip MIQ and self-isolate instead. Their partners and dependent children can also come.

The critical workers mentioned above - teachers, medical workers - could now come from anywhere.

Alongside them will be a much wider swath of skilled workers who are not Kiwis. However, they would need to be earning at least 1.5x the median wage – so $84,240 a year. The Government expect this change will benefit agriculture and ICT industries the most.

Furthermore, working holiday schemes can restart from this date.

The family reunification border exception for highly skilled workers will be aligned with the expanded settings for long-term critical workers, so more onshore workers will be able to reunite with their families.

April 12: Anyone with a visa, and sports and music stars

From 11.59pm on April 12 anyone with a visa could skip MIQ.

Also allowed in will be 5000 overseas students eligible to study in semester two.

The Government will also look to expand the amount of skilled workers coming in – to include season workers and some critical workers who wouldn't meet the income test mentioned above.

Professional sports players and cultural performers and their support staff could also come in.

They would have to be performing in events with “significant national/regional benefits”.

July or earlier – Visa-waiver countries

The next stage will happen by July at the latest, according to the Government - but Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said there was a high likelihood it could happen earlier.

It will see anyone from a visa-waiver country able to skip MIQ if vaccinated. A huge list of countries have visa waivers for visiting New Zealand for up to three months – including the USA, UK, Japan, and most of Europe.

Australians would also be able to travel here freely as they usually can for as long as they like.

Normal work visas would also open back up for workers earning over the median wage.

October: Everyone else

From October normal visa processing would resume and travellers from anywhere would be able to come to New Zealand and skip MIQ. It's not quite clear if at this point they would need to self-isolate.

How will self-isolation work? Will they need tests?

Travellers will need to present a negative pre-departure test to get into New Zealand.

They will be handed three free Rapid Antigen Tests at the airport – one to use on day zero or one, one to use on day five or six, and one spare. If any of those are positive they will have to retest with a more accurate PCR test.

Travellers will eventually be treated as if they are contacts of cases. That means for now, 10 days of self-isolation.

But once New Zealand reaches its new phase of dealing with Omicron – something that is supposed to happen once the outbreak gets a bit larger – then that will be reduced to seven days, as it will be for close contacts.

People will be able to travel by private transport to their self-isolation spot - so you could fly into Auckland but drive (or be driven) to Hamilton.

And people inside your household could still come and go, unless you test positive.

Travellers who break self-isolation will be liable for a hefty $12,000 fine.

But self-isolation isn’t expected to last forever – Ardern signalled that the Government will be looking to phase it out eventually, which would make more regular tourism possible.

Detailed guidelines for self-isolation are expected to be released in the coming weeks. See our story here for specific travel and isolation queries.

What about the unvaccinated?

All of the above applies to people who have been vaccinated against Covid-19.

Kiwis who have not been vaccinated will still need to enter MIQ just as they do now.

Unvaccinated children under five will be able to travel with their parents. A wider exceptions regime for children is being worked on.

Ardern said MIQ would be scaled back but not completely dismantled, and transitioned into a more long-term “National Quarantine Service.” This could include purpose-built facilities.

The Ministry of Health approve of a wide variety of Covid-19 vaccines, listed on this page.

When can Kiwis head overseas?

New Zealanders have always been able to leave – the issue has been about other nations’ entry requirements, and New Zealand’s own requirements for arriving back into the country from overseas.

If you’re a fully vaccinated New Zealand citizen, resident or other eligible traveller planning to head to Australia, you will be able to skip MIQ upon your return from February 28.

If you’re heading to other countries, you’ll be able to bypass MIQ from March 14.

If you are not double dosed, you will still need to spend 10 days in MIQ when you get back to New Zealand. Our story here lists some key advice about overseas travel.