Entry to New Zealand by Foreign Vessels
Entry to New Zealand by foreign vessels is currently subject to the COVID-19 Public Health Response (Maritime Border) Order (No 2) 2020. Under this order, foreign vessels are not permitted to arrive in New Zealand unless they have one of the following exemptions:
Foreign vessels on which every person on board is a New Zealand citizen are permitted to arrive in New Zealand.
Fishing boats or cargo ships where everyone on board is permitted to enter New Zealand under the Immigration Act for the purpose of cargo operations, provisioning or crew changes.
Other vessels granted an exemption by the Director General of Health for purposes specified in the order.
A recent update from the Ministry of Health advised that no applications for border exemptions will be considered between 13 December and 10 January due to the Christmas shutdown. Any applications received after 13 December will be considered to have been received on 10 January when processing for 2022 starts again.
The consistent advice from the Ministry to foreign vessels has been to depart for New Zealand only when an exemption has been granted. The Ministry has strict criteria for the granting of exemptions and is unlikely to relax these just because a vessel has departed for New Zealand.
The COVID-19 Public Health Response (Maritime Border) Order (No 2) Amendment Order (No 3) 2021 came into force on 13 December and expands the exception for vessels in distress to include the need for urgent medical care or critical safety repairs:
the master of the ship is satisfied that the ship is in distress; or
the master of the ship is satisfied that it is necessary for the ship to arrive in New Zealand in order to preserve human life; or
a medical officer of health is satisfied that a person on board the ship requires urgent medical care in New Zealand; or
the master of the ship is satisfied that the ship requires critical safety repairs.
The Ministry of Health will maintain a skeleton workforce during the Christmas shut-down period. Urgent applications for exemptions can be made by contacting the Manager for Covid 19 Recovery at Maritime New Zealand:
Matthew Dean, Manager, C19 Recovery
Maritime New Zealand
Matt.Dean@maritimenz.govt.nz
T: +64 4 473 0111
F: +64 4 494 1263
M: +64 27 364 6863
Further information:
Ministry of Health information page for the maritime sector
Customs service information for private yachts and small craft