Do I need a visa for New Zealand?

Do you need a visa for your trip to New Zealand? All travellers that want to travel to New Zealand by plane or by cruise ship need a visa to enter the country. Only travellers with a New Zealand or Australian passport are exempt from the visa requirement. Applying for the NZeTA online is the cheapest, fastest and easiest way to meet this requirement. Check before applying if your trip meets all the requirements, such as the maximum length of stay of 6 months for travellers with a UK passport. Citizens of all other eligible countries, including Ireland, may stay in New Zealand for up to 3 months.

What is an NZeTA? An NZeTA is an electronic travel permit (visa waiver) for New Zealand. The abbreviation stands for “New Zealand electronic Travel Authority”. If you apply for an NZeTA online, you will not need to visit the embassy to have a visa affixed to your passport. After approval, an NZeTA is digitally linked to the passport, meaning that it can be compared to the ETA for Australia and the eTA for Canada. When this website mentions the New Zealand visa, it refers to the NZeTA, unless otherwise specified.

New Zealand visa requirements and validity period

To make use of the simple online application procedure of the NZeTA visa for New Zealand, you will need to meet the requirements listed below. It is also important to take into account the validity period and the overall length of stay per trip.

What can I use the NZeTA visa for?

• Tourism (including holidays and visiting friends or family)
• Business trips (including conferences, trainings and other similar events)
• Applying for paid or unpaid jobs in New Zealand
• Participating in unpaid amateur sports
• Transiting in New Zealand

How long is the NZeTA visa for New Zealand valid for?
The validity period is two years, starting from the day of approval. A single visa can be used to travel to New Zealand an unlimited number of times. British passport holders may stay in the country for up to 6 consecutive months. Travellers from other countries, including Ireland, may stay in the country for no longer than 3 months. During each period of 12 months, you can stay in New Zealand for a total of 6 months.

There are a number of other requirements that you must meet when travelling to New Zealand with the NZeTA:

• you possess a passport that is valid for at least 3 more months after the planned date of departure from New Zealand
• you possess a return or transit ticket on arrival
• you must be able to prove on arrival that you possess sufficient financial means to complete the trip
• you cannot enter into employment with an organisation in New Zealand (you are not allowed to earn money or work as a volunteer)
• you cannot have any serious transmittable diseases and you are not expecting to have any serious medical problems
• you may not pose a risk to security, public order or law enforcement
• you cannot have been sentenced to jail time, or be suspected of af offence that can lead to this

New Zealand visa application

How can I submit a New Zealand visa application? Applying for a visa for a holiday or business trip to New Zealand (the NZeTA) can be done entirely online, through the online application form on this website. After filling in the application form and making the payment, you must upload a passport photo. After completing this step, your application is processed by the New Zealand immigration service. As soon as the application is approved, you will receive a text message and the visa will be sent to you by e-mail. You can use the visa right away.

How long before departure do I need to apply? The standard delivery time is 5 days. If that is too long, you can select the option "urgent delivery" in the application form. When doing so, the application is processed right away, which generally leads to an approved visa within 24 hours in 90% of the cases. However, a timely delivery can never be guaranteed, even if you select 'urgent delivery'. There is a very small chance the immigration service denies your visa. If this is the case, you will need to apply for a different type of visa, which can sometimes take several weeks. The New Zealand immigration service therefore recommends applying for the NZeTA as early as possible. It is not necessary to have already booked a flight or accommodation to apply for a visa.

What does the New Zealand visa cost? The government of New Zealand levies a tourist tax, the so-called “International Visitor Conservation and Tourism Levy” (IVL). This tourist tax is 100 New Zealand dollars and is included in the visa price. The total cost of an NZeTA, including the tourist tax, visa cost and processing cost are £99.95 per person. If you have chosen for an urgent delivery, a surcharge of £17.50 per person applies.

Where can I go if I have questions or encounter problems? First, read the frequently asked questions about the New Zealand visa. Unable to find an answer or solution there? Contact our Visa Support Centre.