On 18 April 2021, the corridor between Australia and New Zealand officially opened. The long-awaited two-way travel bubble came into effect after many attempts of putting it in place but rejected on multiple occasions due to COVID-19 outbreaks in both New Zealand and Australia.<\/p>\n
Australians are now free to visit New Zealand without applying for permission from the government and undertake hotel quarantine at their destination or when they return home. Similarly for New Zealanders, travel is permitted to Australia on “green zone” flights and hotel quarantine is not necessary.<\/p>\n
Australia and New Zealand closed their borders in March last year and introduced compulsory quarantine for all travellers. Both countries have largely contained the spread of the virus due to the tight travel restrictions, and now for the first time since the start of the pandemic, travellers can enjoy relatively unrestricted travel between Australia and New Zealand.<\/p>\n
If you are planning to travel between both countries, we have listed some of the most frequent questions and everything you need to know about the travel bubble:<\/p>\n
Who is eligible to travel?<\/strong><\/p>\n To be eligible for the bubble, you must:<\/p>\n Do I need to have a COVID-19 vaccine?<\/strong><\/p>\n No, you don’t have to be vaccinated for COVID-19 to travel and come back to both countries.<\/p>\n Is the bubble open to everyone? Can I travel if I have a temporary visa?<\/strong><\/p>\n Yes, everyone who is eligible to live in Australia and New Zealand can travel in the bubble. This means that the measure is not only for citizens and residents, it also allows visa holders to travel exclusively between New Zealand and Australia without the need to obtain a travel exemption or the need to be hotel quarantined upon return.<\/p>\n Can I fly to New Zealand and then on to another country?<\/strong><\/p>\n The trans-Tasman travel bubble isn’t an opportunity to avoid Australia’s international travel restrictions. If you are planning to travel to New Zealand and then onwards to another country, you will no longer be travelling under the travel bubble.<\/p>\n As New Zealand does not prohibit people from travelling overseas without an exemption, the authorities do not have the power to prevent Australians from travelling to other countries.<\/p>\n However, if New Zealand is not your final destination (i.e. a stopover or transit), you will need to successfully apply for a travel exemption to allow you to leave Australia. You will need to be aware that returning to Australia or New Zealand is likely to be difficult due to the current restrictions and it’s not guaranteed that you would be given permission to re-enter either country.<\/p>\n If you still want to travel from New Zealand to another international destination and then return to Australia you will be required to:<\/p>\n What do I need before I can travel from Australia to New Zealand?<\/strong><\/p>\n If you are travelling directly to New Zealand, you will need to fill in an\u00a0online Travel Declaration<\/a>\u00a0before you get on the plane and meet the\u00a0New Zealand Government\u2019s health<\/a>\u00a0pre-conditions and all standard immigration, customs and biosecurity entry requirements apply.<\/p>\n Do I need a visa?<\/em><\/p>\n Australian and New Zealand citizens may travel between Australia and New Zealand without a visa or the\u00a0New Zealand electronic Travel Authority (NZeTA)<\/a>.<\/p>\n All other travellers must hold a visa or the NZeTA. You can travel to New Zealand without first applying for a visa only if you are travelling on a passport from a\u00a0visa waiver country,<\/a>\u00a0a cruise ship passenger or a permanent resident of Australia.<\/p>\n Who needs the NZeTA?<\/em><\/p>\n You need an NZeTA if you\u2019re travelling on a passport from a visa-waiver country:<\/p>\n You will likely need a visitor visa if the above do not apply to you.<\/p>\n\n
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