Areas of expertise
The Government has announced it now requires travellers from most countries arriving in New Zealand to have a negative COVID-19 test result prior to departure.
Travellers who are landing in New Zealand must have a negative COVID-19 test result within 72 hours of departure. A negative test result is not required for travellers from:
- Antarctica
- Australia
- Cook Islands
- Federated States of Micronesia
- Fiji
- Kiribati
- Marshall Islands
- Nauru
- New Caledonia
- Niue
- Palau
- Samoa
- Solomon Islands
- Tokelau
- Tonga
- Tuvalu
- Vanuatu
- Wallis and Futuna
Nb: Children under 2 years of age do not need to take a pre-departure test.
Travellers from locations where the approved pre-departure testing is not available are exempt. Instead, travellers will need to get a certificate from a registered health professional confirming that they have no symptoms, less than 72 hours before travelling. Countries which fall under this exemption include:
- Albania
- Belize
- Dominica
- Kenya
- Laos
- Montenegro
- Myanmar
- Slovenia
- St Kitts and Nevis
- St Vincent and the Grenadines
- Tajikistan
- Turkmenistan
Approved tests
The following tests are acceptable:
- PCR/RT-PCR tests
- LAMP
- Antigen tests (also known as viral antigen tests or point-of-care (POC) antigen tests)
Our advice
It is important you check with your airline about any pre-departure testing requirements and factor these into your timings if you are planning to travel to New Zealand. Travellers should also remember that the requirement to secure a slot in managed isolation before travelling to New Zealand remains in force, with a significant wait list.
We would advise all travellers to confirm any travel requirements with an immigration adviser or solicitor as the rules continue to change.