Information for health professionals and the wider sector is gradually moving. Until mid-2026, information will either be here, or on our other website — tewhatuora.govt.nz.
Border health measures and controls
We use different health measures to stop infectious diseases and other public health risks from entering or spreading in Aotearoa New Zealand.
What we can do at the border
We can use these measures at international airports and seaports to protect public health.
- Give health advice to travellers through alerts and advisories.
- Ask travellers to report symptoms and travel history.
- Check peoples' health status before travelling to New Zealand.
- Collect passenger contact information to track and support people who may be at risk.
- Have public health staff visible at airports and ports.
- Screen travellers from high-risk countries or with high-risk exposures.
- Test travellers, transport vehicles and goods.
- Use signs, message boards, forms and handouts to share information.
- Monitor and support travellers after they arrive.
- Isolate people who have symptoms.
- Quarantine people who are at high risk but do not have symptoms.
- Treat people who have symptoms.
- Trace people who may have been exposed to an infectious disease.
- Train airport and seaport staff (such as on using personal protective equipment)
- In serious situations, restrict people and vehicles from travelling to and from New Zealand.
Choosing the right response
We choose measures based on the type of public health risk. We might need to combine border measures with other actions in the community.
When we decide which border health measures to use, we consider the following.
- How serious the public health risk is and if it could significantly affect people's health and wellbeing now or in the future.
- Should we use measures before people arrive or after they arrive, or both.
- Do the benefits of border health measures outweigh the costs and impacts on travel and trade.
- Has the World Health Organization (WHO) recommended any border health measures under the International Health Regulations (2005).
These guidelines can help inform decisions about whether border health measures should be used to respond to public health threats.
Responding to Public Health Threats at New Zealand Airports and Seaportsexternal link
Other border controls
We also use routine controls in aviation and maritime settings, including:
- Pratique — health clearance for incoming aircraft or ships
- Ship sanitation certification — helps prevent and manage health risks on international vessels
Understanding quarantine and isolation
These are 2 different measures that people often confuse.
Quarantine
Quarantine is when we restrict the activities of healthy people who may have been exposed to an infectious disease. This helps prevent the disease spreading.
Quarantine can apply to:
- people
- animals
- baggage
- containers
- vehicles
- goods.
Quarantine procedures also include:
- providing safe drinking water at airports and ports
- monitoring passengers
- managing ship and aircraft arrivals
- sanitation controls
- planning for diseases that require quarantine.
Isolation
Isolation is when we separate people who are sick or infected from other people. This prevents the disease or contamination spreading.
Isolation can apply to:
- people
- baggage
- containers
- vehicles
- goods
- parcels.
Border health measures at airports and ports
We use a range of border health measures.
We share information with travellers and the travel sector to:
- raise awareness
- promote good hygiene
- encourage people to get help when they need it.
Entry screening helps us identify people who are sick or may be sick before they enter New Zealand. We can do this by:
- screening people on board aircraft or ships, or after they get off
- using health declaration forms
- observing travellers or checking their temperature.
Exit screening is when we screen people leaving New Zealand. We might do this if there is a disease outbreak in New Zealand, especially if Pacific countries ask us to screen travellers.
We can identify and manage contaminated or infectious:
- baggage and cargo
- containers and postal items
- aircraft or vessels
- airport or port environments.
We use cleaning, decontamination, disinfection or fumigation to make them safe.
Vector control such as, controlling mosquitoes or rodents is one of the most common environmental measures.
We also manage chemical or radiological hazards in cargo, vehicles and the environment.
We test to make sure travellers, goods, vehicles and airports or ports are safe and not contaminated.
We might test:
- people
- aircraft or vessels
- cargo
- airport or port environments (such as the drinking water).
Some tests give immediate results such as rapid antigen tests or water quality tests. Other tests need laboratory analysis, which takes longer.
The New Zealand government publishes travel advisories on the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade's SafeTravel website. These advisories help people decide whether to travel to countries or regions with high risks like war, civil unrest or health threats.
SafeTravelexternal link— Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade
We might need to divert aircraft or vessels to different airports or seaports because of:
- bad weather
- mechanical issues
- port facility problems
- sick travellers
- public health risks.
We might also limit international travel to specific airports or seaports.
In very serious situations, we may restrict or stop travel to and from certain countries or areas. This is rare and has significant consequences.
Options include:
- restricting travel to certain areas
- restricting travel from certain areas
- closing international borders.
Measures for travellers who are sick or exposed
We can use these measures for travellers arriving in or leaving New Zealand.
Before people travel to New Zealand, we might require them to:
- get tested and show proof of a negative result
- get immunised and show proof
- show proof of immunisation such as a yellow fever vaccination certificate
- stay in a lower-risk country for a certain time before coming to New Zealand.
We assess travellers who have symptoms or have been exposed to a sick person or source of contamination such as radiation. This is to work out how likely they are to have an infection or be contaminated. We might also assess border workers like crew, airport and port workers, and border officials.
We test to work out if sick travellers have an infection or contamination. We can test:
- people who have symptoms or have been exposed and meet the definition of a suspected case
- people from certain areas, countries, aircraft or vessels
- all sick or exposed travellers
- all travellers from certain areas, countries, aircraft or vessels.
We separate sick or contaminated people from others to prevent the disease or contamination spreading.
People can isolate at:
- home
- a facility like a hospital, hotel or community building
- the airport or port.
On ships, people can isolate onboard. This is not usually possible for aircraft arrivals.
We offer treatment to people who have symptoms to:
- reduce how sick they get
- prevent complications
- reduce the spread of disease.
We trace people who may have been in close contact with someone who is sick or contaminated.
We can:
- tell contacts about their risk
- offer medical treatment (prophylaxis) to prevent disease
- offer testing and support
- ask them to isolate or quarantine or take other steps to prevent spreading a disease.
Quarantine is for people who are not sick but may have been exposed. We separate them from others to prevent possible spread of infection.
People can quarantine at:
- home
- a facility like a hospital, hotel or community building.
On ships, people can quarantine onboard.
We can also apply many of these measures to aircraft, vessels and travellers leaving New Zealand.
To work well, exit measures need to start when people are deciding whether to travel, not just at departure.
We would only use exit measures if:
- the public health threat comes from within New Zealand
- the World Health Organization recommends it
- the destination country asks us to.
Exit measures can seriously affect business, trade and tourism in destination countries. The public health risk needs to be greater than the impact of the measures.