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New Zealand Electronic Travel Authority (NZeTA)
In 2019, the New Zealand Electronic Travel Authority (NZeTA) became mandatory for some visitors from visa waiver countries and transit passengers travelling to New Zealand without a visa.
Since August 2019 there have been more than 4.5 million NZeTAs approved for travellers.
A number of actions have been taken to raise awareness of the NZeTA. These include an international marketing campaign to inform travellers of the new requirement and how to apply for an NZeTA. The campaign is currently in 10 countries and reaching tens of thousands of prospective travellers every week. NZeTA advertising programmes have reached several million people considering travel to New Zealand since 2019. INZ is also working with airlines to ensure that passengers know of the requirement.
The NZeTA has strengthened border security and brought New Zealand border controls in line with international best practice.
An NZeTA is valid for 2 years. This is different from a visa, which is an endorsement on a passport indicating that the holder is allowed to enter, leave, or stay for a specified period of time in New Zealand.
Most NZeTA requests are processed within 72 hours, however some may take longer to process.
When travellers arrive in New Zealand with an NZeTA, there are conditions that they must meet once they are given a visa at the border: