As you may be aware the Government has recently announced a Self-Isolation Pilot will begin in October as the first step in ‘Reconnecting New Zealanders’ and safely re-opening borders and developing new ways for people to travel.
Expressions of Interest (EOI) will open from 9am on Thursday 30 September.
The pilot is for up to 150 participants and is aimed at business travellers, including sole traders, who must have a requirement to travel internationally for business purposes, arriving back in Christchurch or Auckland from 30 October to 8 December 2021.
The pilot will also include a small number of Ministers and Officials attending overseas events as New Zealand government delegates.
Participants are required to be New Zealand citizens or holders of a resident visa with a right to re-enter New Zealand, be fully-vaccinated in New Zealand with the Pfizer vaccine, and not travel to, or through very high-risk countries.
Pilot participants will be required to self-isolate in approved accommodation for 14 days on their return to New Zealand. Participants must isolate alone or with members of the same travelling party, in a private dwelling with no shared ventilation system.
The dwelling must have cellular coverage and be within 50km radius (by road) for Christchurch International Airport or be within a 50km radius (by road) of Auckland International Airport and has to be within the boundary of Auckland Council. Monitoring and testing over the self-isolation period will be mandatory.
Employers will need to submit an EOI on behalf of their employees.
All eligible EOIs will be put into a ballot and participants will be selected so that their arrivals are spread across the six-week arrival timeframe.
Applicants will be advised by Friday 15 October if they have been selected to participate in the pilot. They will then be required to submit supporting evidence and a self-isolation plan.
Participants or employers will need to pay for their own accommodation, if rental property is being used, their food and other personal costs. A fee of $1,000 (incl. GST) per participant will also be payable for transport and other associated pilot costs.
If participants need to enter MIQ because they fail to comply with self-isolation protocols, they will be liable for MIQ fees.
Employers will be expected to take all reasonable steps to ensure their employees comply with self-isolation requirements if accepted into the pilot.
