Tourists arriving into the country at Nadi Airport. [File Photo]

Fully vaccinated visitors to Fiji will no longer be required to produce a pre-arrival negative COVID-19 test prior to entry effective Sunday.

This was revealed in a statement by the Fijian government this morning, adding this move will reduce costs and lend greater convenience to those travelling to Fiji.

The change applies to all visitors entering Fiji by air or sea who were previously required to take a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test or rapid antigen test (RAT) prior to arrival.

This step is in line with best practices for entry requirements among highly vaccinated societies, and follows countries such as Australia and Singapore, which have also removed COVID-19 testing as an entry prerequisite.

The current requirement to book an in-country pre-COVID RAT test prior to departing for Fiji, remains.

Effective Sunday, all visitors above the age of 16 must now display proof of full COVID-19 vaccination prior to entering the country.

The lowering of the age requirement for the vaccine prerequisite comes as more children globally are granted access to vaccines.

Fiji’s key visitor markets have considerably high coverage of vaccination amongst those below the 18-year age threshold.

These moves follow Fiji’s continued effort to strengthen its in-country testing programme and wider community surveillance efforts designed to ensure the safety of visitors and Fijians alike.

The COVID-19 Risk Mitigation Taskforce says it will continue to review entry requirements and COVID safety measures, with a focus on strengthening community surveillance and the robustness of the in-country testing digital platform, supplemented by the already high vaccination rates.