Next room release

Rooms will be released on Thursday 16 December at 11am (NZT) through the virtual lobby.

• Reminder: Get verified now – all passengers will need to have their travel documents verified before booking a room. Find out how to get verified.
• Please arrive on the website between 10am-11am (NZT).
• Do not arrive before 10am as there is no advantage.
• The room release will start at 11am (NZT).
• The release will be for approximately 3,300 rooms across December – March.
• You will need to have the passport details of everyone who is travelling.
• Only one booking per turn. This booking can be for yourself or a group.

Latest update — 29 November 2021
From January 2022, fully vaccinated New Zealanders can begin travelling to New Zealand without entering MIQ. Here is our 3-step plan:

1. Opening to fully vaccinated New Zealand citizens and other travellers eligible under our current settings from Australia — from 11:59 pm on 16 January 2022 (provided they have been in Australia or New Zealand for the past 14 days).
2. Opening to fully vaccinated New Zealand citizens and other travellers eligible under our current settings from all but very high risk countries — from 11:59pm on Sunday 13 February 2022.
3. Opening to fully vaccinated foreign nationals — staged from 30 April 2022 onwards.

If you are not entering MIQ, you will have to meet some requirements, for example self-isolation.
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All the best to the Kiwi's and tag ons

Statement by Joint Head of MIQ Chris Bunny
Once again we saw a drop in the number of people participating in today’s room release. There were only 2,997 people in the lobby at 11am – approximately 1,000 less people than last week. This has been a consistent trend since the border re-opening announcement. For a 4th time, everybody that joined the queue had the opportunity to enter the Managed Isolation Allocation System website.

After 1.5 hours, there was no one left in the queue and there were still 1,000 rooms remaining. The room release remained open until 3.10pm, making it the longest room release we have had since the lobby was introduced. The room release ended after 4 hours 10 minutes with 838 rooms still left for December and March dates.

Today was the first room release with a new process for travellers to pre-verify their travel documents (passports and visas) before booking a room. This new process was introduced to make sure all travellers are eligible to enter New Zealand before booking a room. More passengers were verified ahead of the room release than took part in it – approximately 6,500 passengers were verified ahead of time, and only 5,762 passengers took part in the room release.

More than 58,700 people have secured vouchers through the last 12 room releases (including today’s) and there are still several thousand rooms to be released through to March.

Summary of the stats
The lobby opened about 10 minutes before 10am today.

At 11am 2,997 people were moved into the queue – this represented 4,601 passengers. These numbers grew as people entered the queue throughout the room release (these people go to the back of the queue). There were 3,852 people in the queue in total, representing 5,762 passengers.

2,464 people took the opportunity to secure MIQ vouchers – this represented 3,721 passengers from 109 countries, and across 2,506 rooms. The number of available rooms was 3,344 but not all rooms were taken.

All 3,852 people got access to the website and had the chance to book a room, but some chose not to, either because they didn’t want a particular month (e.g. March) or the dates that were left didn’t line up with flight routes from their departure point.

Dates for today’s release were available across December, January, February and March. January and February dates were the most popular. The room release finished with 838 rooms left for December and March (457 for December and 381 for March).

Approximately 40% of people who participated in the room release today were based in New Zealand. This could be people booking on behalf of other people based overseas, or could be people planning to travel overseas for business, to see family etc and return to New Zealand.

The next room release is to be confirmed.

We have already brought more than 200,000 people back to New Zealand safely and will continue to focus on the safe return of more Kiwis.

Rooms released today
December – 999 (not all taken)
January – 983
February – 570
March – 792 (not all taken)
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Cabinet has agreed to reduce the interval between the second Pfizer dose and booster shot from six to four months, and there will be a delay in the start of the self-isolation scheme for Australian arrivals, Covid-19 Response Minister Chris Hipkins has announced.Hipkins says Cabinet's meeting about the Omicron variant yesterday and following advice overnight meant the government had agreed to a "suite of precautionary measures".
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Omicron, border reopening, MIQ change
As for the border, Cabinet has decided to push back the self-isolation date for travellers from Australia from 17 January to the end of February.

Hipkins acknowledges that decision will disappoint people, but says it will allow more time for the roll out of boosters. "Certainty is hard to provide in an uncertain situation. "With the march of Omicron and New South Wales now expecting to record 25,000 cases a day by the end of January, opening the border in mid-January as planned simply presents too a high risk at this point."

Another change will be that the requirement for travellers to New Zealand return a negative test within 72 hours of departure will be reduced to 48 hours of departure.

The current MIQ stay of seven days in a facility will be extended to 10 days, with that measure already being in place for flights that have had an Omicron case onboard identified.
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Next room release
Rooms will be released on Wednesday 22 December at 12noon (NZT) through the virtual lobby.]

• Reminder: Get verified now – all passengers will need to have their travel documents verified before booking a room. Find out how to get verified.
• Please arrive on the website between 11am-12noon (NZT).
• Do not arrive before 11am as there is no advantage.
• The room release will start at 12noon (NZT).
• You will need to have the passport details of everyone who is travelling.
• Only one booking per turn. This booking can be for yourself or a group.

Latest update — 21 December 2021
Changes to managed isolation and quarantine (MIQ)
From 11:59pm on Thursday 23 December 2021, all stays in MIQ will be extended to 10 days.
This replaces the 7 day stay in MIQ followed by the requirement to self-isolate at home for 3 days after leaving MIQ.
These changes are part of our response to protect Aotearoa from the Omicron variant.

The Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) has cancelled the upcoming MIQ room release following an announcement that the length of stay would be extended.

MBIE announced the release has been moved to early January."At this stage, the next room release will be on Thursday 6 January," MBIE said.
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For those who had booked to come home to New Zealand from Australia from 17 January, the government would work with airlines to ensure some MIQ space was available.
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Air New Zealand said it would cancel around 120 services through to the end of February due to the reopening plans being pushed back, affecting about 27,000 customers.
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Air New Zealand says it will cancel about 120 services through to the end of February because of the Government’s decision to delay the start of non-MIQ travel.
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The airline estimates around 120 flights will need to be cancelled, with about 27,000 customers expected to be affected. Most of the cancelled services are across the Tasman with only a small reduction in frequency on some long-haul flights.
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“We are here for our customers, and as we have throughout the pandemic, we will continue to fly to get them home to Aotearoa as MIQ allocations allow.” All existing quarantine-free flights from Australia to New Zealand between January 17 and February 28 will be cancelled and there will be a limited schedule of quarantine flights available to book. Customers who still wish to travel to New Zealand will need to secure a MIQ allocation before booking on a quarantine flight. The airline will continue to operate a reduced schedule from New Zealand to Australia but will be consolidating its schedule and only operating services out of Auckland.
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Findings for arrivals between 1 August 2020 and 1 April 2021.
About the Survey
The Survey of New Zealand Arrivals collected data on the characteristics and intentions of those arriving in Aotearoa New Zealand during COVID-19 border restrictions. Findings from the Survey are helping us to build a better understanding of the impact of returnees (and other arrivals) on aspects of New Zealand’s economy, including housing, the labour market, and the potential need for government services. This data provides useful information for the development of more responsive and effective policy settings to deliver a more productive, sustainable and inclusive economy.

The target population for the Survey was people over the age of 18 who arrived in Aotearoa New Zealand during COVID-19 border restrictions who had been living overseas and intended to stay in New Zealand for more than 3 months.

The results presented here reflect those for the arrival population between 1 August 2020 and 1 April 2021. A total of 9,553 arriving during this period participated in the Survey. Weighting of the data based on Stats NZ border arrival data ensures the results are representative of the 46,316 arrivals from this group during this period.

Who arrived in New Zealand?

• Male: 51.7%
• Female: 48.1%
• Gender diverse: 0.05%

Over half of those arriving are aged 18 to 39:

• 18 to 29 years: 27%
• 30 to 39 years: 28%
• 40 to 49 years: 17%
• 50 to 64 years: 19%
• over 65 years: 8%

20% arrived in New Zealand with children.

Children were aged:

• under 5 years: 39%
• 5 to 10 years: 35%
• 11 to 12 years: 10%
• 13 to 17 years: 15%

Where were they living before their arrival in New Zealand?

• Australia: 30%
• United Kingdom: 17%
• Asia: 17%
• USA: 9%
• Europe: 5%

36% had been living outside of New Zealand for more than 5 years:

• more than 5 years: 36%
• 1 to 5 years: 29%
• less than 1 year: 18%
• never lived in NZ: 17%

48% said COVID-19 was a factor in their decision to come to New Zealand.

67% are New Zealand citizens.

9% of arrivals are of Māori descent.

• New Zealand citizen: 67%
• New Zealand resident: 17%
• Australian citizen: 6%
• Australian resident: 2%

Why did they come to New Zealand?
Their top 5 reasons for coming/returning to New Zealand at this time are:

• for family-related or compassionate reasons: 35%
• always intended to come/return at this time: 33%
• came here/returned sooner than intended: 26%
• for the good lifestyle NZ offers: 21%
• for employment-related reasons: 18%

What connects them to New Zealand?
Most people had a strong sense of belonging to (8 to 10 out of 10):

• their family and whānau in New Zealand: 74%
• New Zealand as a whole: 65%
• their family outside of New Zealand: 55%

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Key stats

• 94% of arrivals speak English. French, Spanish, Mandarin and German were the next most common languages.
• 38% are not working in paid employment.
• 55% of people not working intend to seek work in New Zealand.
• 46% are working in a job based in New Zealand.
• 12% continue to work in an offshore job.

Where are they living?

• Northland: 3%
• Auckland: 40%
• Waikato: 7%
• Bay of Plenty: 6%
• Gisborne: 1%
• Hawke's Bay: 3%
• Taranaki: 2%
• Manawatū-Whanganui: 4%
• Wellington: 13%
• Nelson and Tasman: 2%
• Marlborough: 1%
• West Coast: 0.3%
• Canterbury: 11%
• Otago: 5%
• Southland: 1%

Do they plan to stay?

• 84% intend to stay in the region they are currently living in for 3 months or more.
• 22% would leave New Zealand if the global COVID-19 situation improved.

What is their NZ living situation?
They currently live in:

• a place owned by family or friends: 31%
• a rental property: 27%
• a place that they own/partly own: 19%
• short-term accommodation: 17%
• other: 5%

They are living:

• with their partner: 39%
• with family/whānau/relatives: 23%
• with their child/children: 19%
• with flatmates/friends: 10%
• on their own: 7%

80% agree or strongly agree with the statement “My living situation is suitable for my needs”.

Of those who disagreed, the top reasons were that their place:

• had too many people living there
• was too expensive
• was too small.

68% think they will not need financial or other government support in the next 6 months.

14% said they did not know.

Of those who think they will need support, the top 3 needs were:

• accommodation
• income
• living expenses.

Next room release
Rooms will be released on Thursday 6 January at 1pm (NZT) through the virtual lobby.

• Reminder: You need to be pre-verified before you can book a room. Find out how to get verified.
• Please arrive on the website between 12noon-1pm (NZT).
• Do not arrive before 12noon as there is no advantage.
• The room release will start at 1pm (NZT).
• The release will be for approximately 1,250 rooms across March and April.
• You will need to have the passport details of everyone who is travelling.
• Only one booking per turn. This booking can be for yourself or a group.

Travellers from Australia
Due to the delay to the opening of the self-isolation pathway from Australia, airlines do not currently have any red flights scheduled from Australia for March or April.
This is the reason that there are no flights from Australia available in the flight checker, and this means that those travelling from Australia will not be able to participate in the room release.
As a result this lobby release is smaller than usual. MIQ is working with airlines in relation to schedules and future releases.
There are further rooms available for March and April that will be released in future lobbies.

About 1250 rooms in managed isolation for March and April will go on offer at 1pm on Thursday in the first MIQ room release since December 16 – but anyone coming from Australia is already locked out.

A notice on the Managed Isolation website posted on Wednesday night said: “Due to the delay to the opening of the self-isolation pathway from Australia, airlines do not currently have any red flights scheduled from Australia for March or April. For this reason, those travelling from Australia will not be able to participate in tomorrow’s room release.”

Self-isolation for those travellers - rather than a stay in MIQ – had been due to start from the middle of this month, but just before Christmas the government delayed the phased border reopening until the end of February. It also cancelled the release of MIQ rooms in the week before Christmas. As well as pushing out the phased border reopening, stays in managed isolation and quarantine (MIQ) were increased to 10 days in an effort to keep the new Omicron strain of Covid-19 out of the community for as long as possible.

The Government’s three-step reopening plan initially would have seen double-vaccinated New Zealand citizens and residents from Australia bypass MIQ from January 17. Fully vaccinated citizens and residents from all other countries would have been able to skip MIQ from February 14. The third step would have seen Aotearoa start to open to fully vaccinated foreign nationals from April 13. Covid-19 Response Minister Chris Hipkins said when he announced the changes before Christmas that the Government now aimed to allow double-vaccinated New Zealanders from all countries to skip MIQ from late February.
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