Immigration New Zealand had a plan to start reopening its borders in January. Unfortunately, a new COVID variant started spreading around the world in December.

New Zealand quickly decided to push back the start of its border plan to the end of February.

Today we’re happy to report that New Zealand is not delaying the reopening of its borders any further! The first stage of New Zealand’s new 5-staged plan kicks off at the end of this month.

Stage 1 – New Zealanders and eligible travellers in Australia, 27 February 2022

During the first stage, fully vaccinated New Zealanders and other travellers eligible under current border settings can enter New Zealand from Australia and self-isolate upon arrival.

Unvaccinated travellers, and those who do not meet New Zealand’s vaccination criteria but are eligible to enter New Zealand will continue to enter managed isolation and quarantine (MIQ).

Stage 2 – New Zealanders and eligible travellers around the world, 13 March 2022

During the second stage of the border reopening, fully vaccinated New Zealanders and other travellers eligible under current border settings will be allowed to travel to New Zealand.

The border will also reopen to skilled workers earning at least 1.5 times the median wage. At the moment, these workers must demonstrate that their skills aren’t readily obtained in New Zealand. New Zealand will remove this requirement from the 13th of March.

Furthermore, New Zealand will reopen its Working Holiday Scheme.

Stage 3 – Temporary visa holders and international students, 12 April 2022

In this stage, New Zealand’s borders will reopen to current offshore temporary visa holders who are fully vaccinated and still able to meet their visa requirements.

The borders will also reopen to up to 5,000 fully vaccinated international students. Furthermore, New Zealand will implement additional and expanded class exceptions for critical workers earning below 1.5 times the median wage.

Stage 4 – Borders open to travellers from Australia and visa waiver countries, July 2022

New Zealand will reopen to fully vaccinated visitors from Australia and visa waiver countries from July, allowing family members of more onshore temporary migrants to visit New Zealand.

At this point, New Zealand will also phase out the border exception pathway for critical workers because of the opening of the new Accredited Employer Work Visa (AEWV) category. The AEWV will be limited mainly to roles with pay above the median wage.

Stage 5 – Borders fully reopen, and most visa categories reopen, October 2022

Immigration New Zealand will resume the processing of most visa categories, including visitor and student visas, from October.

Self-isolation requirements

Self-isolation is only available for fully vaccinated travellers who are eligible to enter New Zealand.

Travellers will self-isolate for 10 days. If New Zealand’s self-isolation period changes, such as a drop to 7 days, the self-isolation period for travellers will also change.

Travellers will also get three rapid antigen tests at the airport – one for use on day 0/1, and one for use on day 5/6, with one extra for backup.

Anyone who tests positive will need to take a PCR test at a Community Testing Centre or GP.

Comment from Immigration New Zealand

COVID-19 Response Minister Chris Hipkins and Immigration Minister Kris Faafoi released a joint statement detailing New Zealand’s border reopening.

“This is a very carefully developed plan that replaces MIQ for the vast majority of travellers while ensuring we maintain ongoing measures to reduce the spread of COVID-19 in our community from recent arrivals,” Minister Hipkins said.

He added that the plan “…has built-in protections to help manage risks such as future variants. A phased approach to reopening reduces the risk of a surge of cases while prioritising the return of New Zealanders and the much-needed entry of skilled workers. Having MIQ for every traveller was a temporary setting for when none of us had protection. New Zealanders need to reconnect with one another. Families and friends need to reunite. Our businesses need skills to grow. Exporters need to travel to make new connections.”

Keep up with the reopening stages

Our team will post reminders about the stages of the border reopening on social media. If you’d like to stay up to date, follow us on Facebook or LinkedIn.

After being unable to see each other in person for nearly two years, New Zealanders and their family overseas finally have a date for when the country’s borders will start to reopen.

The government’s phased plan was announced in a statement by the Minister for COVID-19 Response Chris Hipkins on 24 November:

Step 1: Fully vaccinated Kiwis and other eligible international travellers – Travel to New Zealand from Australia

The first phase of the border reopening kicks off on Sunday, 16 January 2022.

During this phase, fully vaccinated New Zealand citizens and residence-class visa holders and other travellers eligible under New Zealand’s current border settings will be able to travel to New Zealand from Australia. The requirement is that travellers must have been in Australia or New Zealand 14 days before travelling.

Step 2: Fully vaccinated Kiwis and other eligible international travellers – Travel to New Zealand from all other countries

From 13 February 2022, fully vaccinated New Zealand citizens and residence-class visa holders and other travellers eligible under New Zealand’s current border settings will be able to travel to New Zealand from all other countries except Very High-Risk countries.

Step 3: All fully vaccinated international travellers – Travel to New Zealand

All fully vaccinated international travellers will be able to travel to NZ from 30 April 2022 onwards, with the re-opening staged over time.

This phase of the plan is what New Zealanders and their families are looking forward to most!

“A phased approach is the safest approach”

“Closing our border was one of the first steps we took to keep our country safe from COVID-19 and it’ll be the last thing we open up, following our transition into the traffic light protection framework system and lifting of the Auckland boundary.”, Minister Hipkins said in his statement.

He continued, saying, “We always said we’d open in a controlled way, and this started with halving the time spent in MIQ to seven days.[…]In the end, we’ve done what we’ve always done, and that is to follow expert advice – which continues to show us the border is our biggest risk for new cases.”

“A phased approach to reconnecting with the world is the safest approach to ensure risk is carefully managed. This reduces any potential impacts on vulnerable communities and the New Zealand health system.” Minister Hipkins concluded.

MIQ requirements for travellers

Fully vaccinated New Zealanders and travellers no longer have to spend time in Managed Isolation and Quarantine (MIQ) from the 16th of January 2022.

That doesn’t mean New Zealand is going to take any chances with its citizens’ safety. Fully vaccinated New Zealanders and travellers not required to go into MIQ will still need:

• a negative pre-departure COVID-19 test,
• proof of full vaccination,
• a passenger declaration about travel history,
• a day 0/1 test on arrival, and
• spend seven days in self-isolation and
• a final negative COVID-19 test before entering the community

Travellers who aren’t fully vaccinated, but still permitted to enter New Zealand under the current border setting, will continue to enter MIQ upon arrival for seven days, followed by three days of home isolation. This requirement will also apply to travellers from Very High-Risk countries.

Follow us on social media for reminders as the border reopens

Eager to reunite with your family in New Zealand? Follow us on either Facebook or LinkedIn where we’ll post reminders about the phases of the border reopening. In the meantime, please do not hesitate to contact us if you need any immigration assistance.

Pearson PTE has announced three changes to their PTE Academic English test. The English language test provider says its making the changes to ensure that the PTE Academic the most convenient, stress-free English test available.

In our opinion, the planned changes coming into effect on the 16th of November are certainly positive.

You can read more about the changes below:

1. A shorter test

The PTE Academic is reducing in length from three hours to a more convenient two hours.

The format of the test is not changing!

You’ll still get tested on the same English skills, and you’ll still get asked the same types of questions. Pearson PTE will also continue to use the same scoring scale. You’ll just have fewer questions to answer.

Why is Pearson PTE changing the test length?

Pearson PTE wants to make their PTE Academic the most convenient choice for test-takers. Through extensive testing, Pearson PTE found that reducing the number of questions could improve the efficiency of PTE Academic with no impact on test scores or quality.

2. Enhanced score report feedback

You’ll get a new personalized “skills profile” alongside your PTE Academic score report with additional feedback on your performance. This feedback will also include suggestions for how to improve.

3. At-home English tests

PTE Academic will offer an Online test option that you can do at home. However, PTE Academic Online is unfortunately not recognised for visa and immigration purposes.

When would you take an English test?

English tests assess your English language skills for some New Zealand visas. Where the test applies, Immigration New Zealand requires you to attain a satisfactory score to prove that your English skills meet their requirements.

How do I prepare for an English test?

There are four ways in which you can ensure you do your best in an English test:

• Understand the test format
  • You’ll get tested on your listening, reading, writing and speaking skills.
• Practice with sample tests
  • You’ll be able to familiarise yourself with the test format, experience the types of tasks you’ll have to do, test yourself under timed conditions, and review your answers and compare them with model answers.
• Work with an English language teacher
  • English language teachers will introduce you to the test format, take you through sample tests, give feedback, and focus on your developmental areas.
• Know what to expect on test day
  • Find out how long your test will be and what you’ll need to take with you to the testing centre.

You can read more about these strategies on our blog.

Stay up to date with the latest immigration news

Join our newsletter to be the first to know about changes that affect your immigration to New Zealand. You only need to submit your email address and you can unsubscribe at any time. Sound good? Then click here.

New Zealand closed their borders to just about anyone when COVID-19 first struck in 2020, but the country has since created several border exceptions for people in critical occupations and visa categories.

There is thus no reason to put off your emigration if you qualify for one of the border exceptions listed below.

Even if none of these border exceptions apply to you, there are still good reasons to start your emigration (you can skip to numbers 6 and 7 on our list to see why).

1. New Zealand IS ACCEPTING visa applications under some categories

Immigration New Zealand announced in September that it’s now again accepting visa applications under four categories:

• Parent Retirement
• Migrant Investor (Investor 1 and 2), including Expressions of Interest for Investor 2
• Entrepreneur
• Refugee Family Support (Tiers 1 and 2)

The rationale behind accepting Investor and Entrepreneur visas is that these visas brings investment into New Zealand and add jobs to the economy. This is much-needed in a post-COVID-19 world.

2. You might qualify for an ‘other critical worker’ border exception

In September 2020, INZ relaxed the criteria for some overseas workers to allow migrants with critical skills through the border.

The New Zealand employer will apply for the exception. The  overseas worker must fall into one of two categories and then meet the criteria associated with the category under which the employer wants to apply for the border exception.

3. New Zealand announced a border exception for 300 teachers in July!

Education Minister Chris Hipkins announced on 3 July that 300 overseas qualified teachers will be able to enter New Zealand under a new class border exception.N

“This will give principals and services additional support, especially for 2022 recruitment, and complement existing teacher supply initiatives”, said Minister Hipkins.

The exception may also be open to teachers who worked in New Zealand but who had to leave the country and were unable to return to their job due to border closures.

Furthermore, Immigration New Zealand is creating a family reunification border exception for the partners and dependent children of teachers who are already in New Zealand on temporary visas. These teachers will be able to request for their family to join them for the duration of their visa.

4. INZ is creating a border exception for dairy farm workers

Immigration New Zealand is introducing a border exception for up to 150 dairy herd managers, up to 50 dairy farm workers and up to 50 veterinarians.

“It is clear from conversations with the dairy and veterinarian sectors that they are facing workforce pressures. These border exceptions will go a long way towards relieving those pressures,” Agriculture Minister Damien O’Connor said.

To apply for the exception, you must have between three to five 5 years’ experience and meet the remuneration threshold of NZD85,000 per year.

5. The border exception for critical healthcare workers is indefinite!

Up to March 2021, the border exception for critical healthcare workers had a start date of 31 March 2021. This start date meant that new, approved employees had to start working for their New Zealand employer on or before 31 March 2021.

Much to the delight of visa holders and New Zealand employers, INZ decided to remove the start date. This move meant that the border exception for critical healthcare workers became indefinite!

Eligible healthcare workers can thus enter New Zealand at any stage to take up employment in the country.

6. You can complete critical parts of your skilled migrant visa application despite the border closures

Let’s first explain why you’d want to do that. It’s simple. If you complete the critical parts now, you’ll be ready to submit your visa application as soon as the restrictions are lifted. You’ll be streets ahead of migrants who chose to wait and see what happens first.

Our advisors always tell our clients that their focus should be on the long term not the short term!

Let’s now look at some examples of those critical parts that you can tick off your to-do list.

It is, for instance, your personal documents such as birth certificates and police clearances. Keep in mind also that if you’re applying as a skilled worker you may need occupational registration and a qualification assessment. These are known to take long and may take even longer now. It’s therefore much better to start your emigration process sooner rather than later!

7. INZ could change immigration regulations which could mean that you don’t qualify to apply for a visa at all

We do not say this to scare you. This has happened all too often in the past.

Take for example the big changes that were made to Essential Skills visas earlier this year, including that your median wage would determine the family members you can support and in what manner.

Let’s not forget about when INZ closed the Parent Resident visa in October 2019 until February of this year. At the same time, INZ made a number of changes to the visa. One of these changes was capping the number of visas at 1,000 annually.

These changes scuppered many people’s plans!

Remember that generally you’re safe from any changes if your visa application is already in the system when it happens. This is another good reason to start your emigration sooner rather than later.

Ready to get going with your visa application?

Contact us if you want to find out if you qualify for any of New Zealand’s border exceptions, or if you simply want to start putting together your visa application.

Our advisors can assess your immigration eligibility and work out a personalized immigration plan. Our administrative team can then help you get all the parts together.

We want to see you realise your dream of living in New Zealand as much as you do, so we’re looking forward to working with you!

The border restrictions in response to COVID-19 have turned many people’s lives upside-down.

One of the affected groups have been international students who were in their home countries when the borders closed. Unfortunately, these students have been unable to resume their studies thus far.

Thankfully, INZ has now announced that up to 1,000 priority returning degree and post-graduate international students will be able to return to New Zealand from April 2021.

The requirements of this border exception

• You must have already completed some of your study in New Zealand.
• If you enter New Zealand under this exception, you have to apply for and be granted a new study visa in line with immigration requirements. You can include your partner and dependent children, in line with visa requirements.
• If your application is successful, you’ll have to complete standard managed isolation and quarantine:
  • You must book your space through the allocation system
  • You’re liable for the standard charges of the isolation and quarantine
• Due to the employment pressures as a result of COVID-19 and increased living costs, you’ll have to be able to prove that you have NZ$20,000 per annum to support yourself for the duration of your visa.

Get expert assistance with your study visa application

Get in touch with our licensed advisor if you’re one of the 1,000 returning students and you’d like assistance with your visa application.

Our licensed advisors can ensure that you still meet the requirements to apply for a study visa. We’ll also guide you through the preparation of your visa application and submit your application too.