If you have skills, qualifications or experience that New Zealand needs you may be able to migrate to New Zealand. The country always welcomes skilled migrant categories based on factors such as age, work experience, qualifications, and an offer of skilled employment.However, currently the border is closed to almost all travellers to help stop the spread of COVID-19.

Who can travel to NZ:

Travel restrictions apply to all arrivals into New Zealand by air or sea. Most people who are not New Zealand citizens or residents must get approval from Immigration NZ before travelling to New Zealand. Some people do not need to request to travel.

Current managed isolation and quarantine requirements:

Travellers to New Zealand from all countries, except eligible passengers from a quarantine-free travel zone, must complete a 7-day stay in managed isolation or quarantine followed by self-isolation in the community until a negative day 9 test is received.

You are legally required to obtain a Managed Isolation Allocation system voucher confirming your place in a managed isolation facility before boarding a flight.

Entering New Zealand without going through Managed Isolation and Quarantine:

Step 1

From 11.59pm Sunday 16 January 2022 fully vaccinated eligible travellers can travel to New Zealand from Australia, and undertake self-isolation, without going through managed isolation and quarantine. Eligible travellers will be required to have spent the previous 14 days in Australia and meet health requirements before travel.

Eligible travellers include:

• New Zealand citizens,
• New Zealand permanent residents or resident visa holders,
• Australian citizens or permanent residence visa holders where New Zealand is your primary place of established residence,
• holders of a critical purpose visa (with a border exception), or
• partners, dependent child/ren or parents of a dependent child who is:
  • a New Zealand citizen,
  • a New Zealand resident, or
  • one of the people listed in the bullet points above.

Eligible travellers who are not travelling from Australia can travel to New Zealand but stay in managed isolation and quarantine.

Step 2

From 11.59pm Sunday 13 February fully vaccinated eligible travellers can travel to New Zealand, and undertake self-isolation, from anywhere apart from Very High-Risk countries without going through managed isolation and quarantine. Travellers will be required to meet health requirements prior to travel.

Eligible travellers include:

• New Zealand citizens
• New Zealand permanent residents or resident visa holders
• Australian citizens or permanent residence visa holders where New Zealand is your primary place of established residence
• holders of a critical purpose visa (with a border exception), or
• partners, dependent child/ren or parents of a dependent child who is:
  • a New Zealand citizen,
  • a New Zealand resident, or
  • one of the people listed in the bullet points above

Step 3

From 30 April 2022 all people who require a visa will be able to return to New Zealand in stages and undertake self-isolation, providing they have been fully vaccinated and meet other health requirements.

New border exceptions announced Wednesday, 15 December 2021:

A new border class exception for the technology sector will enable 600 specialist tech workers and their partners and dependent children to come to New Zealand, targeting areas of the sector most in need of overseas talent, including software development, product managers, cyber security and interactive media.

The class exception includes four categories of workers:

• Software and Application Programmers
• ICT Managers
• ICT Security Specialist
• Multimedia Specialists

There will also be an annual salary threshold that will need to be met – at least $120,000 a year for software and application programmers, ICT managers and ICT security specialists, and at least $95,000 a year for multimedia specialists.

The industry and government are working through the details for a scheme for allocating the class exception, with the view to having it operational in early 2022. 

Other new border exceptions include:

• 180 external auditors (plus partners and dependent children). External auditors need to be earning at least:
  – $70,000 a year for auditors with two to three years’ relevant experience
  – $85,000 a year for auditors with at least four years’ relevant experience
• 50 wool handlers, with at least one season’s experience in a similar jurisdiction and paid at least $30 an hour

Existing exceptions also have been renewed:

• 200 rural contractors paid at least $27 an hour 
• 40 shearers
• 615 deep-sea fishing crew (to enter in September and October 2022)
• 30 travellers per month nominated by Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) to transit New Zealand on the way home to Australia 
• 550 cargo crew servicing the Pacific to undertake managed isolation in New Zealand

The existing class border exception for 200 dairy workers has also been altered to remove the previous split of 150 assistant dairy farm managers and 50 dairy farm assistants. The wage requirement of dairy farm assistants will be increased from $27 (median wage) to $28 an hour.

Who can come to New Zealand without requesting to travel?

Those allowed to come here without first requesting to travel are:

• New Zealand citizens and permanent resident visa holders
• the partner or dependent child of a New Zealand citizen or permanent resident, and your visa is based on this relationship
• a diplomat who holds a post in New Zealand
• Australian citizens or permanent residents ordinarily resident in New Zealand
• Eligible travellers from the Cook Islands and Niue

Restrictions on travel from very high-risk countries:

Travel to New Zealand remains strictly controlled to reduce the risk from COVID-19. Countries that are currently classified as very high risk are:

• Papua New Guinea
• Botswana
• Eswatini
• Lesotho
• Malawi
• Mozambique
• Namibia
• Seychelles
• South Africa
• Zimbabwe

Travellers eligible for entry from these countries include 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

Travellers must have both your COVID-19 test sample taken and your result returned within 72 hours of your scheduled departure time.

Update for resident visa applicants and holders offshore Thursday, 2 December 2021:

Immigration New Zealand (INZ) will resume processing offshore residence applications received prior to the border closure in March 2020.Around 2,300 residence applications across all categories which had been received prior to the border closure remain to be decided. As a result of the border restrictions imposed last year because of COVID-19, processing of most visa applications offshore was halted.

People eligible to travel to New Zealand must still secure a spot in Managed Isolation and Quarantine. Those who travel later in 2022 may be able to enter without quarantining, depending on the border restrictions in place.

Novaturient is a Licensed Immigration consultant that offer Visa services in acquiring Permanent Resident Visa, Student Visa and Visit Visa for countries such as Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Schengen Countries and the UK.

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