Travel ban from India to New Zealand set to begin today

April 11, 2021

There are New Zealanders in India who had booked to come home from India in the coming weeks.

From this afternoon, travellers, including New Zealand citizens, will be banned from entering the country from India for more than two weeks.

Due to surging numbers of Covid-19 cases in the Asian country and a spike in arrivals from India with the illness, Jacinda Ardern last week announced the temporary measure.

The ban comes into force from 4pm on April 11 - today.  

"This temporary suspension will remain in place until 28th of April," the Prime Minister said Thursday.

It is the first time officials have suspended travel for New Zealand citizens or residents attempting to return; a move the Government continually distanced itself from previously throughout the pandemic.

The Human Rights Commission wants the Government to justify temporarily stopping people arriving home from India.

"While a public health emergency is a justification for limits to be placed on the free movement of people, any limitation on the rights of New Zealanders to return home must be clearly justified by the government in accordance with its domestic and international human rights obligations," Chief Human Rights Commissioner Paul Hunt told RNZ yesterday.

The commission could not assess whether the ban was lawful, unless the government was transparent about its decision, he added.

The temporary suspension will be in place from April 11 to April 28 as the number of cases being imported has spiked in recent weeks.

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