Freedom at Last: Aussies Can Leave for New Zealand
For 12 months, Aussies have had to ask for permission to leave the country. But finally, freedom is back – at least for New Zealand! We told you NZ snow was likely back on the menu yesterday, with New Zealand’s Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announcing April 6th as the day they will set the date for the ‘travel bubble’ to commence.
That will allow for quarantine free arrival into New Zealand – something Kiwi visitors have been enjoying to Australia (bar a couple of temporary bans) since October.
For it to function, Australians also have to be allowed to leave without government permission – and now you can. It’s official!
The Travel Ban is over, at last, for NZ at least.
This is the latest advice from the Australian Government’s Smart Traveller website, which has until now advised don’t travel to anywhere on the planet!
New Zealand New Zealand is now exempt from the ban on overseas travel from Australia. We advise you to ‘exercise a high degree of caution’ (level 2 of 4) when travelling to and around New Zealand. While the COVID-19 risk to you may be considered low, outbreaks can occur and authorities could implement measures at short notice, which may impact your ability to move freely. Be prepared for the possibility of an extended stay or disruption to your travel. New Zealand entry restrictions still apply.We now advise:Exercise a high degree of caution in New Zealand. |
This is HUGE news. Yes, we can leave. If you do so until the Kiwis finalise their bubble date you will need to isolate there, and pay a contribution for that, on arrival.
No problem, our readers are going in winter anyway, so we can wait for that official start date from the NZ government.
For now, we’ll just celebrate being able to leave Australia again without requiring government permission to do that. While those deemed essential, or influential, enough to leave were freely allowed to do so, most people couldn’t – even when faced with tragic family circumstances.
Hopefully it will soon be extended to other destinations like Singapore and Japan.