Dated at Wellington this 16th day of June 2022.
Hon Dr Ayesha Verrall,
Minister for COVID-19 Response.
Explanatory note
This note is not part of the order, but is intended to indicate its general effect.
Pre-departure testing
Schedules 3, 4, 5, 7, 12, 13, and 14 of the principal order are amended to remove the pre-departure testing requirement for all travellers.
Vaccination requirements
Clause 13 of the principal order is amended to expand the categories of people who are exempt from the requirement to be vaccinated before arriving in New Zealand. In addition to the groups of people already exempt from the requirement to be vaccinated, the following categories of people are now also exempt:
a person who is the holder of a New Zealand residence class visa that has expired no more than 6 months before the person boards their flight to New Zealand; and
a person who is a citizen of Australia and who is ordinarily resident in New Zealand.
Exhibiting symptoms of COVID-19
Previously, a person who exhibited any symptoms of COVID-19 was not allowed to board their flight to New Zealand unless they had a certificate from a qualified person verifying that the symptoms were likely to be caused by something other than COVID-19. As replaced, new clause 16A provides for a person who travels to New Zealand and who exhibits any symptoms of COVID-19 to arrive in New Zealand if they have a certificate from a qualified person or a negative COVID-19 test result.
Voluntary stay at MIQF
The principal order is amended to insert new clause 10A and amend Schedules 5, 11, and 14 to provide for people to whom those schedules apply to ask the chief executive of the Ministry of Business, Innovation, and Employment for authorisation to isolate at a managed isolation and quarantine facility after they arrive in New Zealand.
Carrier must check compliance with COVID-19 provisions
Clause 54 is amended to provide for the information that carriers must provide to Customs to be specified by Director-General notice rather than being specified in the principal order.
Other miscellaneous amendments
The principal order is also amended to—
remove the physical distancing requirement for travellers from group 1 countries:
remove the face covering requirement for travellers from group 1 countries at the port of arrival:
remove the prerequisite for New Zealand-based aircrew to visit no more than 2 ports while outside New Zealand:
remove the requirement for aircrew to complete a traveller declaration:
remove the vaccination requirement and New Zealand traveller declaration requirement for all transit passengers:
remove the requirement for travellers to wait on the results of a COVID-19 test before boarding their direct flight or first connecting flight to New Zealand:
remove the requirement that arrivals from Antarctica must be considered at negligible risk of having been exposed to COVID-19:
provide for shipping crew members arriving in New Zealand by air to join a ship to be treated the same as general travellers:
reinstate the pathway for travellers who have been in a group 2 country to self-isolate should countries be added to group 2 in the future.
Schedule 1 of the principal order is amended to provide transitional provisions so that a person remains subject to the requirements of the principal order, as in force immediately before the commencement of this order, if—
the person arrives in New Zealand at or after 11.59 pm on 20 June 2022; and
they are on a direct flight, if it departed for New Zealand before that time, or on a multi-leg journey to New Zealand, if the first flight of the journey departed before that time.
Approval by resolution required
This order must be approved by resolution of the House of Representatives before the expiry of the period described in section 16(2) of the COVID-19 Public Health Response Act 2020. If this does not happen, the order is revoked on the expiry of that period.
Issued under the authority of the Legislation Act 2019.
Date of notification in Gazette: 16 June 2022.
This order is administered by the Ministry of Health.