The New Zealand government has announced a 5-stage plan to gradually open the border, starting on Sunday, February 27, 11.59 pm with fully vaccinated New Zealand citizens who are in Australia.<\/p>\n

Here are the five stages of the plan, outlining when visa holders and international students can enter NZ:<\/p>\n

Stage 1 \u2014 from Sunday, February 27, 11.59 pm<\/strong><\/p>\n

Fully vaccinated New Zealanders and other eligible travellers in Australia can enter New Zealand and self-isolate on arrival. Eligible travellers must have spent the previous 14 days in Australia and meet health requirements before they travel.<\/p>\n

Eligible travellers include:<\/p>\n

\n
• New Zealand citizens<\/li>\n
• New Zealand permanent residents or resident visa holders<\/li>\n
• Australian citizens or permanent residence visa holders where New Zealand is your primary place of established residence<\/li>\n
• Holders of a critical purpose visa (with a border exception)<\/li>\n
• Those exempt from border entry restrictions such as diplomats and air crew, except those that are travelling from Very High-Risk countries, and<\/li>\n
• Partners, dependent child\/ren or parents of a dependent child who:
  \n–\u00a0 holds a visa based on the relationship to a New Zealand citizen or resident
  \n–\u00a0 is travelling with a New Zealand or resident
  \n–\u00a0 is ordinarily resident in New Zealand.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

  Stage 2 \u2014 from Sunday 13 March, 11.59 pm<\/strong><\/p>\n

  Fully vaccinated New Zealanders and other eligible travellers from anywhere in the world can enter New Zealand and self-isolate on arrival.<\/p>\n

  The following changes to schemes and border exceptions will be made:<\/p>\n

  \n
  • Working Holiday Schemes will reopen on a rolling basis (the staging and timing of individual schemes will be confirmed)<\/li>\n
  • the income criteria for the Other Critical Worker border exception will be reduced to 1.5 times the median wage (NZD $84,240 a year or NZD $40.50 an hour) for roles longer than 6 months<\/li>\n
  • the requirement for Other Critical Workers to demonstrate that the skills are not readily obtainable in New Zealand will be removed, and<\/li>\n
  • the highly skilled family reunification border exception will be aligned with the 1.5 times the median wage bright line test for Other Critical Workers.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

    All travellers must meet health requirements before travel.<\/p>\n

    Eligible travellers include:<\/p>\n

    \n
    • New Zealand citizens<\/li>\n
    • New Zealand permanent residents or resident visa holders<\/li>\n
    • Australian citizens or permanent residence visa holders where New Zealand is your primary place of established residence<\/li>\n
    • Holders of a critical purpose visa (with a border exception)
      \nthose exempt from border entry restrictions such as diplomats and air crew, except those that are travelling from Very High-Risk countries, and<\/li>\n
    • Partners, dependent child\/ren or parents of a dependent child who:
      \n–\u00a0 holds a visa based on the relationship to a New Zealand citizen or resident
      \n–\u00a0 is travelling with a New Zealand or resident
      \n–\u00a0 is ordinarily resident in New Zealand.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

      Stage 3 \u2014 from Tuesday 12 April, 11.59 pm<\/strong><\/p>\n

      Temporary visa holders currently outside New Zealand and who have a valid visa can enter New Zealand as long as they still meet their visa requirements.<\/p>\n

      Up to 5000 international students can enter New Zealand for semester 2.<\/p>\n

      Workforce class exceptions and events, and government approved programme lists, will be extended and updated as needed.<\/p>\n

      Stage 4 \u2014 from July 2022<\/strong><\/p>\n

      The NZ borders will open to:<\/p>\n

      \n
      • Australian citizens, Australian permanent residents and other foreign nationals travelling from Australia<\/li>\n
      • Visitors from visa-waiver countries<\/li>\n
      • Accredited Employer Work Visa (AEWV) holders.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

        Stage 5 \u2014 from October 2022<\/strong><\/p>\n

        The border opens for all other New Zealand visa holders, including visitor and student visas, unless the visa is closed or paused.<\/p>\n

        For any immigration assistance, please contact: Arno.Nothnagel@absoluteimmigration.com<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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