Elly Fleming
, Associate at Pitt & Moore, discusses how the recent New Zealand border re-opening affects families and businesses. She also runs through what we can expect from here, including the timeline of the countries opening to the rest of world.
Recently, the Prime Minister provided some more certainty for families and businesses, around what is happening at the border.
In short, the five step plan to reconnect New Zealand to the world is:
1. From 11.59pm Wednesday 2 March,fully vaccinated New Zealanders in Australia will be able to return home and skip Managed Isolation & Quarantine (MIQ) and will not be required to self-isolate upon arrival. Critical workers in Australia will also be able to travel in
2. a) From Friday 4 March, 11.59 pm New Zealanders from the rest of the world will be able to return under similar conditions
b) From 13 March, 11.59 pm some critical workers, and their families will be able to come to New Zealand and if fully vaccinated, will not need to self-isolate upon arrival. Some working holiday schemes will open for applications
3. In April non-citizens with skilled worker visas and international students will be able to skip MIQ and, if fully vaccinated, will not need to self- isolate upon arrival
4. Then no-later than July the country is expected to open up to non-citizens from visa-waiver countries – like Australia, the USA, and UK. Travellers arriving under the Accredited Employer Work Visa category will also be able to enter NZ;
5. From October New Zealand would open up to the rest of the world and normal visa processing would resume.
The Prime Minister also stressed that MIQ requirements will remain for the unvaccinated, including New Zealanders, refugees and some community cases as needed.
This announcement is great news, and we are very pleased for the families who will finally be able to reconnect.
From a business perspective, we are cautiously optimistic that this will mean businesses can get the skilled workers they need, depending on flight, and housing availability.
As we have flagged in the past, the pressure on Immigration New Zealand (INZ) having to manage the new work visa programme is immense. A few days ago, the Prime Minister promised to resource Immigration New Zealand appropriately to meet demand. We hope this is the case, as now that the country’s doors are starting to open again, there will be even more work for INZ to do.
With the borders reopening, it is as important as ever for individuals and businesses to get professional legal advice on their options as well as assistance with border entry exception requests.
We have a thorough understanding of the applicable immigration policy and our team has successfully assisted numerous individuals and Kiwi employers to obtain approval under the available border exception categories.
Elly has worked exclusively in the area of immigration law since her admission to practice in 2005. She has over 10 years’ Australian immigration industry experience and over five years of experience in immigration law in New Zealand. She is extremely responsive, very easy to deal with and passionate about her work. Known for her dedication and results driven approach, Elly has successfully assisted clients from all over the world to secure different types of visas. Elly is passionate about untangling the complexities of immigration law for her clients while strategically guiding them to achieve their goals. Elly believes that listening to – and understanding – clients is the most important foundation upon which good immigration advice is built and is the key to helping clients to make either Australia or New Zealand their home. You can find Elly via LinkedIn 
, or the Pitt & Moore website.
