International Borders

Samoa Borders to Open on August 1

In an announcement overnight, Prime Minister Fiamē Naomi Mataʻafa has confirmed Samoa will welcome international travelers into the country from 01 August 2022.

In preparation for the reopening, a series of developments and new processes have been put in place to ensure Samoa is travel-ready, and that the health and safety of locals and international travelers is of utmost priority. Samoa’s robust preparations include its own digital contact tracing app, training and upskilling for local employees, upgraded travel instructions, and bolstered testing capabilities.

Samoa to open international borders

Prime Minister Fiame Naomi Mata’afa said Cabinet considered the plan for reopening of international borders.

“Critical to this decision are the current rates of our vaccination programme, amendments to quarantine conditions and the opening of borders of our neighboring countries, like Australia and Fiji as well as New Zealand in October this year,” Fiame said yesterday.

Cabinet also approved the continuation of Alert level two (orange) for another two weeks with some amendments.

The National University of Samoa will resume classes as planned early this month.

New Zealand to reopen to vaccinated visitors

Fully vaccinated visitors can enter from 30 April, and will have to self-isolate for seven days upon arrival.

More New Zealanders will be allowed to travel home from early next year as well, under similar rules.

The move eases strict curbs that have locked out many citizens and tourists since borders were slammed shut at the start of the Covid pandemic.

Covid-19 Response Minister Chris Hipkins outlined the staged re-opening plans on Monday, calling it "the safest approach to ensure risk is carefully managed".