Entry to New Zealand: The New Zealand border is currently closed to almost all arrivals. You may be able to travel to New Zealand while the border is closed if you are considered to have a critical purpose to travel. Please see the Immigration New Zealand website for criteria. The website also includes information on how to submit a request for travel to New Zealand.

On 24 November 2021 the New Zealand Government announced there will be gradual easing to the border closure in 2022 in three steps, with the following groups eligible to enter:

• Fully vaccinated New Zealand citizens and those residence-class visa holders and other travellers eligible under New Zealand current settings from Australia from 11:59 pm (NZT) on Sunday 16 January 2022 (provided they have been in Australia or New Zealand for the past 14 days)

• Fully vaccinated New Zealand citizens and those residence-class visa holders and other travellers eligible under New Zealand current border settings, from all but very high risk countries, from 11:59pm (NZT) on Sunday 13 February 2022

See information about eligible travellers

• Fully vaccinated foreign nationals from 30 April 2022 onwards. Please be aware the New Zealand Government may stage this opening by visa class categories.

All travellers 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

• seven days isolation, and a final negative test before entering the community

COVID-19 vaccination requirements: From 1 November 2021 all non-citizens aged 17-years and over arriving into New Zealand, including New Zealand permanent residents and temporary visa holders, must be fully vaccinated. This means travellers need to have had a full course of any of the 3 COVID-19 vaccines that have been approved by a foreign government or approval authority, and which are accepted by New Zealand. You need to have had the last dose at least 14 days before you arrive in New Zealand. Even if you are fully vaccinated, you still need to have a negative COVID-19 test result in the 72 hours prior to departure and spend time in Managed Isolation and Quarantine (MIQ), unless you are exempt under New Zealand rules.

See the latest advice on pre departure tests that will be accepted by the New Zealand Government.

Travellers from high risk countries: Travellers to New Zealand from very high risk countries are temporarily restricted to New Zealand citizens, their partners, dependent children, the parent of a dependent child who is a New Zealand citizen, and those with significant humanitarian reasons. All non-New Zealand citizens must hold a valid visa to enter New Zealand. Other travellers, including New Zealand residents, can enter only if they spend 14 days outside a very high risk country before their arrival here. Transit through a very high risk country is excluded from the 14-day requirement. See New Zealand Immigration’s (INZ) website for further details.

To see the current list of countries designated as very high risk please go to the [New Zealand Government website]. The list of countries designated as very high risk is reviewed regularly by the New Zealand Government. Please see the New Zealand Government website for the latest list.

Quarantine free travel: Border rules and quarantine-free travel ‘bubbles’, including eligibility criteria, can change quickly. Travellers must check the status of quarantine–free travel bubbles and be prepared for disruption to their plans if these travel bubbles are paused or suspended.

For New Zealand, quarantine-free travel is available on commercial aircraft only. There are agreements in place with each state in Australia (see ‘travel between New Zealand and Australia’) and the Cook Islands only. Quarantine-free travel between New Zealand and the Cook Islands does not include those travelling from Australia to New Zealand.

When entering New Zealand from a quarantine free travel zone, normal visa conditions remain. If you are a temporary visa holder in New Zealand, you should be aware that you need to meet New Zealand immigration requirements in order to return to New Zealand. This means you need to have a ‘multiple entry’ visa that gives permission to leave New Zealand and return, provided all entry requirements are met. Check the COVID-19 government website for the latest information, including to the status of quarantine-free travel.

Between New Zealand and Australia: The quarantine free travel agreements between New Zealand and individual states in Australia may be fully or partially suspended at short notice. You should check the New Zealand government COVID-19 quarantine free travel requirements before you travel and during your stay in Australia. If your travel plans are disrupted, you should contact your airline. To enter New Zealand from a safe zone in Australia travellers must hold a visa or NZeTA, normal immigration rules apply, please see INZ for criteria information.

Between New Zealand and the Cook Islands: The quarantine free travel agreements between New Zealand and the Cook Islands may be fully or partially paused at any time. You should check the New Zealand government COVID-19 website for details. If your travel plans are disrupted, you should contact your airline.

You need to spend 14 full days before your date of departure in either New Zealand or the Cook Islands. See the New Zealand government COVID-19 website for details. You must hold a visa or NZeTA to travel from the Cook Islands to New Zealand, please see INZ for criteria information. Most travellers to New Zealand will be required to have confirmation of a negative COVID-19 test result in the 72 hours prior to departure. If you have received a COVID-19 vaccination, you will still need to take a test. Some people are exempt from pre-departure testing including travellers from certain locations.

For more information please visit the New Zealand Government COVID-19 website. You may be able to travel to New Zealand while the border is closed if you are considered to have a critical purpose to travel. Please see the INZ website for criteria. The website also includes information on how to submit a request for travel to New Zealand. For more information on COVID-19 in New Zealand visit the government COVID-19 website.

Quarantine requirements: Anyone entering New Zealand (except from within a quarantine-free travel bubbles) needs to undergo quarantine or managed isolation in an approved facility. You will need to declare you have been vaccinated when you book your place in managed isolation and quarantine (MIQ). Arrivals must then test negative for COVID-19 before entering the community.

From 14 November 2021 you must spend 7 days in MIQ followed by home isolation until you return a negative day 9 test. Anyone travelling to New Zealand (except travel from within a quarantine-free travel bubble) will be required to have a COVID-19 test on ‘day zero’, i.e. within 24 hours of arrival in a managed isolation and quarantine facility. Arrivals must remain in their managed isolation or quarantine facility room until the results of the test is known. You will then undergo further testing in line with New Zealand’s policy on isolation and quarantine.

Travellers to New Zealand are legally required to have a voucher confirming their place in managed isolation (MIQ) before flying to New Zealand. Before you book your flights, you need to hold a confirmed voucher for managed isolation. There is a 4-step process to get a managed isolation allocation voucher using a virtual lobby process. For the step by step process see Secure your place in managed isolation.

Provision of a voucher for managed isolation does not guarantee entry into New Zealand. You must first ensure you qualify to enter the country under New Zealand’s border restrictions. The emergency allocation requests exists for limited situations that require urgent travel to New Zealand within the next 14 days. To submit a request for an emergency allocation you must be legally entitled to enter New Zealand under the current border settings. See the Emergency Allocation Requests information on the Managed Isolation and Quarantine website.

There are a few exceptional circumstances in which people can apply for an exemption from managed isolation. Visit the New Zealand Ministry of Health website for more information. You will be liable for a managed isolation charge if you’re currently overseas and return to New Zealand for a period of less than 90 days; or you leave New Zealand after the regulations came into effect (12:01am on 11 August 2020) and return at a later date.

If you intend to travel to New Zealand from 30 April 2022 and are fully vaccinated please check the COVID-19 Government website for relevant testing, entry requirements and self-isolation requirements.

Transit via New Zealand: From 20 June 2020, transit visa waiver
and visa waiver nationalities, people transiting to or from Australia and people departing a Pacific country or territory to return home, do not need a transit visa as long as they have a confirmed flight out of New Zealand within 24 hours to a port which will accept them.

In most cases, transit passengers must hold an Electronic Travel Authority (ETA) or transit ETA before travel. These are applied for online. See Information about NZeTA for further detail.

If the passport holder is not from a visa-waiver or transit visa-waiver country or territory, or covered by one of the situations listed above, then they will need to apply for a transit visa. Due to COVID-19, Immigration New Zealand is not currently accepting paper applications for transit visas so have put a temporary process in place for submitting applications by email.

The process for applying for a transit visa via email is available on the Immigration New Zealand website - transits.

If you are staying airside while transiting through New Zealand you do not need to provide a negative COVID-19 pre-departure test (but you may need to be tested as per the requirements of your destination country).

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CLOSED, ENTRY LIMITED TO RESIDENTS AND ESSENTIAL REASONS

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Tokelau Travel Restrictions