New Zealand reopening: My arrival experience in Auckland

New Zealand has reopened its borders to Singaporeans and nationals of 59 other visa-waiver countries, effective 2 May 2022.

I was on SQ285 to Auckland, the first flight over from Singapore, and the experience couldn’t have been more straightforward. Truth be told, the vast majority of formalities are settled before you go (e.g. applying for NZeTA, completing the Traveller Declaration). If all these are in order, you can be off the plane and out the airport within 20 minutes. 

Before you fly

I highly recommend you read through this post covering all the documents you need to prepare before departing for New Zealand. To briefly recap, you should be carrying physical copies or screenshots of the following: 

• Vaccination certificate
  • New Zealand accepts 35 different vaccines for entry, including Pfizer, Moderna, Sinovac, and Sinopharm
• Negative pre-departure ART or PCR test result
  • Taken within 24/48 hours (ART/PCR) of departure, and required for travellers 24 months or older
• NZeTA
  • Costs NZD$9 (+ mandatory NZD$35 International Visitor Conservation and Tourism levy) if applied via NZeTA app (Android | iOS), not required for APEC Business Travel Card cardholders
• NZ Traveller Declaration
  • Complete within 24/48 hours of departure (since it requires submission of pre-departure test results)

There is no mandatory travel insurance requirement, though I’d definitely recommend purchasing it nonetheless.

Which travel insurance policies provide COVID-19 coverage?

Departing from Singapore

Upon checking in at Changi Airport, I was asked to show:

• Vaccination certificate
• Negative pre-departure COVID-19 test result
• NZ Traveller Declaration
• Proof of return ticket (since I booked 2x one-way tickets, one flying into Auckland and the other returning from Christchurch)

I wasn’t asked to show my NZeTA, since presumably the system can pull that information via passport number (and in any case I have an APEC Business Travel Card). 

Prior to boarding, I received a physical New Zealand Passenger Arrival Card. This card asks for personal and travel details, as well as 30-day travel history and a customs declaration. I was briefly worried my travel history in Bali (Indonesia is not a visa waiver country) might cause issues, but it wasn’t a problem at all. 

Be sure to complete this on the plane for a smoother arrival process.

On arrival in New Zealand

Upon landing, follow the signs for International Arrivals. Even if you’re planning to connect to a domestic flight (like I was), you must clear immigration and customs at the point of arrival in New Zealand, and check-in again after that. 

Before immigration, there was a SIM card kiosk (though it was closed when I arrived at noon on a Monday- hopefully they’ll be resuming operations as more international visitors arrive?).

Those who hold passports from Singapore and other selected countries can make use of the eGates. These are extremely easy to use, and less than 60 seconds later, I was officially in New Zealand- no drama at all. 

Bags were delivered extremely quickly, probably because ours was the only international flight landing at the time. 

After collecting my bag, I did a brief interview with a customs officer, to confirm I wasn’t carrying any fruits, meat or wood products. They gave me 3x CLINITEST RAT kits plus an instructions sheet.

These kits are required for your on-arrival and post-arrival testing on:

• Day 0/1 (the day of arrival is Day 0)
• Day 5/6

Technically you only need two kits; I assume they give you three in case one of them turns out to be a dud.

Isolation is not required prior to testing or after testing (and in any case, it only takes 15 minutes), which means you can catch a connecting flight straight upon arrival. 

Tests are self-administered, and all results (whether positive or negative) need to be reported to the Ministry of Health. A submission link will be automatically generated and emailed to the address you provided in the NZ Traveller Declaration, upon landing. 

The survey is extremely simple, with just two questions to complete. You do not need to submit a photo of the result.

If your result is positive, you must isolate immediately and seek a PCR test as soon as possible. If this comes back positive as well, a 7-day isolation must be served (the day you got a positive result is considered day 0).

Otherwise, there’s really nothing else to be done. Enjoy your trip!

Conclusion

I was concerned the first day of reopening might be a logistical nightmare at the airports, but it really was smooth sailing. In fact, most of the confusion was on the Singapore side; the check-in agent said she hadn’t processed a check-in for New Zealand in a long time, so it took her a while to process everything. 

Once in Auckland, I managed to clear all the formalities in just over 20 minutes, leaving more than enough time to make my domestic connection to Queenstown two hours later. 

Any questions about the arrivals process?