Families split by the border closure say news that spare places in managed isolation could be used to reunite them with their partners and children is exciting.
Photo: RNZ /Dom Thomas
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern told Morning Report the spare capacity in border hotels in April and beyond meant there may be space for family reunification, alongside returning New Zealanders.
And MIQ today announced that the number of emergency spaces in managed isolation has been increased, and the grounds to apply have also been expanded to include visiting terminally ill relatives.
Asked about managed isolation vacancies, Ardern said: "If we continue to see extra capacity available, that helps us in our thinking around who is it that otherwise might have a legal basis to be in New Zealand but haven't been able to travel.
"So family members who have not been able to be reunified. When we see a bit of easing there that tells us that we might have the space to have both citizens, and some of those individuals coming back through."
Work visa holder Henco de Beer's wife and two children are still in South Africa - the border closed 20 hours before they were due to join him last March. He last saw his son, Sion, when he was four days old, after leaving them to start his job as a production team leader in Hamilton.
"We are extremely excited to hear that at least we are moving in that direction," he said.
"However long that may take, it does make you feel, 'hey, we can still get through this', looks like it still may become a reality."
Henco de Beer, his wife and daughter. Photo: Supplied
After a year of no news and bad news the prime minister's suggestion feels like a miracle, he added. A protest by families asking for changes - rescheduled because of changing alert levels - is due to take place at Parliament next week.
Estimates vary but more than 1000 people are believed to be separated from their families because of the border closure.
Emergency allocation changes
MIQ also made changes to the emergency allocation of spaces today: increasing capacity by 100 a fortnight and expanded criteria.
It receives about 240 applications a week to skip the queue for a room in a border hotel, and just over half have been declined.
Current criteria include New Zealanders needing urgent travel for health reasons and those needing to care for a family member here.
New grounds to apply will include visiting close relatives with an end-stage disease here or overseas, passengers travelling from unsafe countries and Pacific Islanders needing critical medical treatment.
MBIE deputy secretary and MIQ joint head Megan Main said the new categories would help accommodate future applications of this nature.
"Over the last few months, we've received applications from people who were terminally ill and wanting to return home to see loved ones, from people who were in countries where they were unsafe and from citizens from Pacific island countries who need to receive urgent medical care in New Zealand."
She added that other changes clarified the wording around emergency allocations for essential and urgent critical workers.
"We are also making 100 more spaces available each fortnight - increasing it from 250 to 350 rooms. We always said that we would continue to review this number to ensure it is sufficient to accommodate travel which is genuinely urgent while not compromising the operational safety of our 32 facilities.
"These decisions are not easy ones to make. There are a lot of people who are in really distressing situations overseas. Brigadier Jim Bliss and I are the people who make the decisions and I know that for both of us, it's one of the hardest parts of our job.
"We need to balance each individual application with our critical work to ensure the safety of all New Zealanders and the limited available capacity in Managed Isolation Facilities. The changes we're making today will mean that more people who need to get home urgently will be able to."
Of 3088 emergency allocation applications received so far, 1682 have been approved.
Criteria remain that the travel must be time-critical, the applicant must be legally entitled to enter New Zealand and they must be willing to travel within seven days of making their application.
Changes include allowing applications from New Zealand citizens or residents:
- entering New Zealand to visit a close relative who is living with a terminal illness or end-stage disease (with a life expectancy of six months or less), where timely travel is unlikely to be possible if the person books through the Managed Isolation Allocation System; OR
- who are living with a terminal illness or end-stage disease (with a life expectancy of six months or less) entering New Zealand to visit a close relative or to reside in New Zealand, where timely travel is unlikely to be possible if the person books through the Managed Isolation Allocation System; OR
- who are living with a terminal illness or end-stage disease (with a life expectancy of less than six months) who have travelled or are travelling to visit a close relative who resides overseas, where timely return travel is unlikely to be possible if the person books through the Managed Isolation Allocation System; OR
- who have travelled or are travelling to visit a close relative who is living with a terminal illness or end-stage disease (with a life expectancy of six months or less) and resides overseas, where timely return travel is unlikely to be possible if the person books through the Managed Isolation Allocation System.
- citizens or residents of Pacific countries requiring access to time-critical medical treatment in New Zealand under an official medical treatment scheme that is unavailable in their own country, and accompanying clinical personnel or essential caregivers.