The Fiji Government will no longer be covering the cost of non-essential repatriation from March 29, 2021.
The Government has confirmed this saying Fijians planning to repatriate for personal reasons, including to visit friends and family, will be required to self-fund the cost of the mandatory 14-day quarantine.
The Government stated that those charges were being implemented well after neighbouring countries, including Australia and New Zealand, as well as other developed countries, who had similar border quarantine requirements.
Since March 2020, more than 12,800 Fijians have been repatriated through Fiji’s COVID-safe quarantine protocols at a direct cost of over $18million to government to cover meals, accommodation, swab tests, transportation and personnel costs, it stated.
“The new charges apply to all Fijian passport holders, including Fijians who have been residing overseas and are dual passport holders or permanent residents of another country. The charges will include the cost of accommodation and meals, which will be directly payable to the quarantine facilities,” the Government stated.
“These charges will depend on the quarantine facility and will average around $2200 for the entire 14-day quarantine. COVID-19 swab tests (minimum 2), transfers from airport to quarantine facility, monitoring and site surveillance, will continue to be paid to the Ministry of Health and Medical Services for all repatriating Fijians.
Exemptions from these charges will only be considered in exceptional circumstances and approved by the Quarantine Authority of Fiji.
More details in tomorrow’s edition of The Sunday Times.
