New Zealanders who have been stranded in Australia, unable to win a place in their country's hotel quarantine system, will be able to go home from February 27.
Their fellow citizens stuck in other parts of the world will have to wait until March 13 to make the journey.
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced the changes during a speech this morning and detailed a new plan for how she intends to reconnect New Zealand to the world.
The country still has strict border policies in place and citizens located across the world have been forced to enter a lottery to win a place in New Zealand's hotel quarantine system.
Today, Ms Ardern announced that policy would now change.
"The tools we used yesterday to help battle this health crisis, they won't stay the same," she said.
She said there was "no question" the managed isolation and quarantine (MIQ) system "has been one of the hardest parts of the pandemic".
From the end of the month, instead of facing a bottleneck at hotel quarantine, returning New Zealanders will be allowed to isolate at home.
It's expected Australian tourists, and other travellers from visa-waiver countries, will be allowed in "no later than" July.
Visa holders, including international students and migrant workers, will be allowed in and to isolate at home from mid-April.
Non-visa holders can expect to enter New Zealand in October.
New Zealanders returning from Australia, as well as other eligible travellers, from February 27 will need to self-isolate for 10 days.
"We do see self-isolation requirements changing over time. We expect there to be a reduction to seven days," Ms Ardern said.
She said self-isolation would remain in place in the short term, but left the door open for that requirement to removed by the time tourists were welcomed back.
“We do see those requirements changing, lowering and eventually being unnecessary," Ms Ardern said.
Ms Ardern said officials expected that by the end of February Omicron would have spread further across New Zealand and arrivals from Australia would "not materially change" the risk in the community or the trajectory of the pandemic for the country.
Today, New Zealand recorded 147 new cases of COVID, including 44 at the border.
Some decisions within this plan will be reviewed on February 20, but the initial dates relevant to returning Kiwis are "fixed".
And because New Zealand's reopening plan has changed before, Ms Ardern was asked how travellers could have confidence the steps laid out today would actually happen.
She said boosters made all the difference.
"We have no intention of changing these dates. We want people to be able to plan," Ms Ardern said.
"We're asking New Zealanders now get boosted, prepare, because we've set those dates going forward.
Yesterday, Ms Ardern announced New Zealand would shorten the window for booster eligibility from four months to three, just as the nation achieved the milestone of having 94 per cent of its population over 12 fully vaccinated.
'The anguish of MIQ'
New Zealand's hotel quarantine system — referred to as MIQ — has received international media attention this week due to pregnant journalist Charlotte Bellis writing a letter condemning the system after she was denied a spot and forced to remain in Afghanistan.
Her case has since been resolved, with the ministry explaining her application was originally closed due to the timing of her intended travel.
Bellis said her case was just one of many. And pressure over the strict system and regular denial of emergency allocations has been building.
When Ms Ardern opened her address today, she defended the longstanding policy.
"The anguish of MIQ has been real and heartbreaking, but the choice to use it undeniably saved lives," she said.
"MIQ meant not everyone could come home when they wanted to, but it also meant COVID could not come in whenever it wanted to either.
"And that’s meant we've been able to build our defences to become one of the most vaccinated countries in the world."
Ms Ardern said the plan for the country's hotel quarantine system into the future was for it to remain in place for high-risk travellers, such as those who were unvaccinated.
She said the military would not be used to support the system any longer and that a "national quarantine service" would be established in New Zealand in the future.
