N.Z. Opens Borders to Finally Bring Home Kiwis After Two Years

(Bloomberg) -- New Zealand will finally begin reopening to the world at the end of this month as frustration mounts over a border that's been closed for almost two years to keep out Covid-19.

The border will reopen to vaccinated New Zealanders from Australia at midnight on Feb. 27 and from the rest of the world at midnight on March 13, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said in a speech Thursday in Auckland. Some groups of critical and skilled workers will also be permitted to enter from those dates. Arrivals will no longer need to spend time in a government managed isolation facility, but will be required to self-isolate and return negative tests.

Ardern is under intense pressure to open the border as limited capacity in managed isolation, or MIQ, has frustrated thousands of New Zealanders wanting to return from abroad. The recent case of pregnant New Zealand journalist Charlotte Bellis, who sought assistance from the Taliban in Afghanistan because she couldn't get a spot in MIQ, made headlines around the world.

The closed border has also cut the supply of migrant labor and created a worker shortage that's impeding the economic recovery, driving up wages and fueling inflation. The tourism and international education industries have been decimated by the absence of foreigners.

At the same time, the strategy has helped New Zealand prevent major coronavirus outbreaks and limited the death toll to just 53, giving it one of the lowest pandemic mortality rates in the world.

“The anguish of MIQ has been real, and heart breaking,” Ardern said. “But the choice to use it undeniably saved lives.”

With the highly contagious omicron variant now taking hold, the only remaining purpose of border restrictions was to give the government time to administer booster vaccinations to as many people as possible.

More than 94% of people aged 12 and over are now fully vaccinated and the government said 92% of those over 18 will be eligible for a booster by the end of February.

Five-Step Plan

Under the five-step reopening plan, non-citizen visa holders and as many as 5,000 international students will be able to enter the country from midnight on April 12.

But tourists won't be able to come until July, when the border will open to anyone from Australia and to travelers from other visa-waiver countries such as the U.S. and the U.K. The final step in October will see the border fully reopened to visitors from anywhere in the world.

Initially, arrivals will need to self-isolate for 10 days, dropping later to seven days, and Ardern said isolation requirements will be kept under constant review.

But Kevin Ward, Chief Executive of the New Zealand Airports Association, said the continuing requirement for self-isolation will prevent any meaningful recovery in demand for travel to the country.

“New Zealand will remain essentially off the map for international travelers and many airlines,” he said. “People do not want to fly to New Zealand if they have to spend their first week sitting in a hotel.”