The Managed Isolation Allocation System (MIAS) is the primary avenue for obtaining MIQ places for those how need them for entry to New Zealand: Isolation and quarantine | Ministry of Business, Innovation & Employment (mbie.govt.nz)
Travellers can log in at any time, select their travel dates, see if MIQ rooms are available, and secure a voucher for their preferred date.

A small number of MIQ places are available for complex groups that meet government priorities. The Border Exception Ministerial Group makes decisions on MIQ Group Allocations in blocks of a few months at a time, depending on priorities. This allows planning for significant sporting events that will require large numbers of people (not yet individually identified) to arrive in New Zealand at one time.

Refer to the MIQ website for information about the Government’s priorities and process for group allocations.

The Government has set very high thresholds for group allocations for MIQ and some international travel exemptions that allow individuals or teams to enter New Zealand for sport events. The most recent opportunity to request group allocations for MIQ in March to May 2022 closed in November. We will provide advance notice of any future opportunities.
At this stage, when the Government plans to open the border to vaccinated travellers from most countries by July 2022, we do not anticipate any further group allocations to be made. 

Criteria for Group MIQ Allocations for sport events

All requests for MIQ Group allocations for sport events must come through Sport NZ who assess them against the group allocation criteria (see following), prioritise the requests and act as the sponsoring agency for any applications progressed. Requests for Group MIQ Allocations cannot be made directly to MIQ.

Sport NZ will recommend the eligible priority requests to be considered by senior officials and Ministers alongside other proposals for exemptions from across the New Zealand economy (for example, from the business, education and culture sectors).          

To be supported by Sport NZ a request for MIQ Group Allocation must

• require more than 20 rooms in MIQ; and
• be time sensitive (i.e. teams must arrive in NZ by a specified date to be able to participate in the event) OR the reason they need to leave New Zealand is time sensitive and they need certainty of return before departing; and
• require that the teams enter as a single unit OR there is no reasonable alternative pathway for complex groups;

AND must meet one of the following two criteria:

Criteria One – financial benefit

The visit of an athlete or team must demonstrate a financial benefit to the New Zealand economy of more than $2.5 million from:

• direct financial benefit from spend of participating athletes and teams in local economy (e.g. accommodation, hospitality, travel etc); or
• revenue generation from crowds at venues and hospitality and accommodation spending; or
• commercial revenue (e.g. from sponsorships or broadcast revenue).

Criteria Two – significant sporting event

The visit of an athlete or team relates to a ‘significant’ sporting event defined as one which is:

• essential to protect existing Government investment that would otherwise be jeopardised; or
• essential for the ongoing viability of a competition or significant NZ-based event that could result in future issues; or
• essential to the financial viability of the relevant NSO (e.g. the NSO relies on revenue from the event for a significant proportion of its finance without which it may require additional financial support from the Government).

In addition to meeting one of the criteria set out above, each MIQ Group Allocation proposal that requires visa exemptions must also meet all of the following mandatory criteria set by Immigration NZ:

• prioritising these groups is in line with the Government’s strategic objectives for the relevant policy area; and
• the groups entering New Zealand do not create more than minimal labour market displacement risks (i.e. those entering New Zealand will not be performing roles that could otherwise be filled by New Zealanders); and
• entry would be reasonable in light of the tightly restricted border settings more generally – i.e. can be justified against those currently not able to enter New Zealand.

If you have any questions related to international travel for athletes and teams then feel free to contact us at: internationaltravel@sportnz.org.nz.