Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has announced a fast-track to the border reopening plans for New Zealand.

Vaccinated Australians will now be able to enter New Zealand from 11.59pm on Tuesday, April 12 and visitors from visa waiver countries and those with valid visitor visas can enter from 11.59pm on Sunday, May 1.

Ardern says the decision has been made after receiving guidance which suggests the Government can significantly bring border reopening forward for tourists.

'We are ready to welcome the world back,” says Ardern.

She says the nation will be waiting with 'open arms” for new arrivals thanks to the countries Covid-19 pandemic health response.

Tourists will need to undergo a pre-departure test and then two further rapid antigen tests on day 0/1 and day 5/6. However, they will no longer be required to isolate upon arrival in New Zealand.

The Government is bringing forward the date for opening the border to tourists in time for the Australian school holidays, with hope of boosting the economic recovery, says Ardern.

The visa-waiver countries now eligible to enter from the start of May include large tourist markets such as the UK, US, Japan, Germany, South Korea and Singapore.

'Closing our border was one of the first actions we took to stop Covid-19 two years ago. It did the job we needed,” says Ardern. 'But now that we're highly vaccinated and predicted to be off our Omicron peak, it's now safe to open up.”

Whilst this is an important new step, Ardern admits it will take time for numbers to get back to pre-pandemic levels.

'While we know it will take some time to see tourism scale up again, today's announcement will be a welcome boost for our tourism operators who have done it harder than many over the last two years,” says Ardern.

'In a world still battling Covid-19, travellers will be discerning about where they go in the short term. Our strong health response including the lowest death rate in the OECD over the past two years and our high rates of vaccination, alongside our reputation as a beautiful place to visit, will be an asset in this market.

'We know that traveller numbers will be below pre-Covid levels for a while and tourism globally will take time to rebound, but today's announcement means were we're ready to go, so haere mai welcome back.”

Further advice will be received shortly on options for non-visa waiver travellers, which are currently due to come in from October.