New Zealand border to begin reopening at end of February

In wonderful travel news, the New Zealand border is set to begin reopening at the end of February.

As per SMH, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern confirmed on Thursday that the reopening will happen in planned stages. Vaccinated New Zealanders currently in Australia will be allowed to return home without having to quarantine from February 27th. Citizens in the rest of the world will be able to do so two weeks later on March 13th.

The first two stages include both citizens and permanent residents. Returning Kiwis will still have to self-isolate but won’t need to do so in a government-run quarantine hotel. Critical workers in Australia will also be able to travel in.

Following that, vaccinated backpackers, some skilled workers, and international students will be allowed back into the country between March and April, and will be permitted to self-isolate instead of having to stay at official state isolation facilities.

Tourists from Australia will then be able to enter in July, with travellers from the rest of the world being shut out of NZ for another eight months, until October, although it may be sooner if the COVID-19 situation changes.

Watch PM Jacinda Ardern’s press conference on the New Zealand border reopening:

It comes just one week after things were looking bleak for the country’s border reopening after Ardern cancelled her own wedding as the country continued to battle the spread of the Omicron variant.

Mask rules and gathering limits were imposed after a cluster of nine cases showed community transmission from the North to South islands.

So if you’re a Kiwi currently in Australia, dust off that passport and start packing your bags. Thankfully the rest of us don’t have too long to wait either.

For more on this topic, follow the Travel Observer.

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