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4 NEW ZEALAND Friday, October 02, 2020 The Indian Weekender Travelling to NZ: New managed isolation allocation system to go live from next week SANDEEP SINGH The new managed isolation allocation system – an online portal - that will allow everyone travelling to New Zealand to secure their place in a managed isolation facility before they board their flight is all set to go live next week. Starting from 8 a.m. Monday, October 5, travellers to NZ will have the ability to look ahead into the spaces available in MIQ facilities and book a place and plan their onward journey, which includes getting a mandatory voucher before boarding on the flights. Registration required Travellers to New Zealand will need to register on the Managed Isolation Allocation System as the first step to securing their place in managed isolation. The allocation system will go live at 8am, 5 October and the link will be published on the dedicated website www.miq.govt.nz Once the individual traveller, couple or family group has completed their registration on the system, they will be issued a voucher that confirms their allocation to a place in managed isolation. They will need to present their voucher at the airport in order to board their flight. The voucher will confirm that the traveller have availed a space in the MIQ facility. Legal requirement to get a voucher The requirement to obtain a voucher will be required by law, failing which the airlines flying to New Zealand will not be allowed to enter the country. However, mindful of the fact that this system is still evolving and a work in progress, the government is providing a grace period of a month after which it will become mandatory to produce a voucher at the time of boarding on the flight. Grace period from October 5 to November 3 The travellers planning to arrive in NZ from October 5 (8 am) to November 2 (11.59 pm) will not be required by law to produce voucher at the time of boarding, though encouraged to do so. Travellers who arrive at the airport without a voucher during the grace period will still be able to board their flight. However, their check-in process may take longer while airline staff work with MIQ to arrange a place for them in managed isolation. Travellers arriving after 3 November Travellers are legally required to have a voucher before flying if they are arriving in New Zealand after 12am, 3 November 2020. If you arrive in New Zealand after 12am 3 November, airlines will not be permitted to board you if you do not have a voucher, unless you are exempt from using the Managed Isolation Allocation System. No fee for the voucher, but some people have to pay for MIQ facility The website on MIQ (www.miq.govt.nz) clearly says that there will not be any fee for travellers to obtain a voucher, although some travellers will have to pay for MIQ facilities. The government had introduced charges of $3,100 for the first person in the room, $950 for each additional adult sharing the room and $475 for each additional child (aged 3 to 17 years) sharing that room from August 11. . Who will have to pay If you are a NZ citizen or resident you will be liable for a charge if: • You are currently overseas and return to NZ for a period of less than 90 days; or • You leave NZ after the regulations came into effect (12.01am on 11 August 2020) and return at a later date. The term ‘New Zealand citizen or resident’ means NZ citizens (including those in the Cook Islands, Niue and Tokelau) and residence class visa holders. It also includes Australian citizens and permanent residents who are ordinarily resident in NZ. Temporary visa holders will have to pay, unless they left New Zealand on or before 19 March 2020, and were ordinarily resident in New Zealand as of 19 March 2020. Ordinarily resident means having lived in New Zealand for 183 days (six months) in total of the previous 12 months. Everyone who is entering on a border exception as a critical worker will have to pay. Their employers may pay these costs. Critical workers who are unsure of who will pay the charge will need to contact their employer. How to get your voucher You can get your voucher by registering on the Managed Isolation Allocation System online portal. The link to the online portal will be available on this website from 8am, 5 October. There is a four-step process to get your Managed Isolation Allocation Voucher: • Create a registration for an individual passenger or a family travelling together Enter passenger details of the individual or everyone in the group travelling together. Couples should complete a ‘family registration’. • Hold accommodation • Select the intended day of arrival in New Zealand for the individual or group. A 14- day stay in managed isolation, starting on this day, will be held for 48 hours while they book their flights. • Book flights, ensuring the date the flight arrives in New Zealand matches the date entered in the Managed Isolation Allocation System Return to the website and enter these flight details into the system to confirm the managed isolation allocation. • Print or download the voucher. The voucher will also be instantly emailed once the allocation has been confirmed. Airlines will ask travellers to present their voucher, either a printed physical copy or on their mobile device, before boarding their flight. A group travelling together will be issued a single voucher for all passengers in the group. The system will allocate you, or you and your family, to a managed isolation facility for a 14-day stay. You will not be able to choose the city or facility where you isolate. Passengers on the same flight are typically allocated to the same managed isolation facility, except those assessed as having a higher risk of COVID-19 who will enter quarantine. Simeon Brown Your strong voice for Pakuranga Authorised by S Brown, 120A Pakuranga Road, Pakuranga.
The Indian Weekender Friday, October 02, 2020 NEW ZEALAND 5 ELECTION 2020: Where is the plan for immigration? • From Page 3 Majority of them have invested heavily - both financially and emotionally - in making New Zealand as their preferred choice of destination for migrating and starting a new life based on their education and skills and have been living in the country for many years. Now they face the risk of losing it all as they languish outside NZ borders helplessly, with their legitimate visas expiring with each passing month, and no assurance from the government that their visas will be restored and they will be getting a fair and dignified chance to return and continue with their lives. If letting them back in NZ and continuing with their lives is not an option, for many of them, the government seems to not be in the mood to offer the basic dignity of allowing them to return temporarily and make decent closure of their dream of Kiwi-life by taking their precious belongings, along with settling their finances for good. What makes it worse is that despite such an unfair treatment meted out to this fast becoming new underclass of temporary migrants who are being denied entry into the country, despite having legitimate visas issued by Immigration NZ, even the political opposition is also blissfully silent, to offer any “reasonable support” to ameliorate their plight. What is the major barrier – logistical or ideological? In that regard, it is indeed important to find out what is the major barrier that the country is facing, in the worldview of the two major political parties, that is preventing from letting temporary migrants stuck overseas back into the country. While the Labour-led government has assiduously framed it as a logistical challenge, whereby putting it up as an issue that was in direct conflict with the issue of the right to returning of NZ citizens and Permanent Residents, the National has also timidly, and almost cluelessly, towed the line so far. None of the political party has chosen to stand for the right thing to do under the given chaotic situation of honouring NZ’s visas and the global reputation by letting the temporary migrants return to a country where they have been living for the last few years. To say that a developed advanced economy like NZ cannot afford to have a few dedicated MIQ facilities that can explicitly cater for the temporary migrants stuck overseas, along with the existing facilities catering for returning Kiwis, does not appear accurate and correct. It is indeed never a question of a logistical challenge as both the government and the opposition have conveniently made it to be; instead, it is an ideological barrier, preventing both major parties to commit for a dignified return of temporary migrants stuck overseas. Their ideological barrier is evident from reluctance from both parties to put their stakes on the ground on the entire immigration policy and commit for a bare minimum vision on how they envisage managing the economy without any intake of the mid and low skilled migrant workforce in the near term. Your Trusted Financial Advisers Expert Advice for First Home Buyers Right advice and economical quote for all your insurance needs In Business Better rates and stress free loans Advice on best loan structures Lisa Whyte New Lynn Authorised by L Whyte, 107 Great South Rd, Greenlane. People and jobs are the cornerstones of thriving communities. Only National has the plan and the team that will create more jobs and a better economy to get New Zealand out of this crisis. I’m Lisa Whyte, National’s Candidate for the New Lynn Electorate. I hold a Bachelor of Science in Economics and Politics and have a background in corporate finance. I am a trained management accountant and resource consent commissioner. For the past 15 years, I have served as an elected Local Board member – most recently as Chair and Deputy Chair. I have also served the community on boards for sports clubs and kindergarten associations and am currently on the establishment board for a new primary school. I believe in service, and that politics is all about people. As your MP, my priorities for New Lynn will be the issues you’ve told me are important to you and your family. This includes: √ More frontline police √ Improving beach water quality √ Safely reopening our walking tracks √ Upgrading and repairing our local schools √ Improving road safety √ Supporting local jobs and businesses to survive and thrive in a post-COVID world. You can find out more about National’s policies and what it means for you and your family at www.national.org.nz/ policy. This is the most important election of our lifetime - and your vote counts. Voting is open from Saturday, 3 October to Saturday, 17 October. Head to www.national.org.nz/vote to find your nearest voting place. Please vote National and Lisa Whyte to secure a strong future for New Zealand.
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