Immigration at the border

How Immigration New Zealand (INZ) collaborates with border agencies to protect New Zealand's border.

Our role at the border

Immigration New Zealand (INZ) works to protect New Zealand’s border in close collaboration with other border agencies - like New Zealand Customs Service and Ministry for Primary Industries. We aim to strike the balance between helping genuine travellers enter New Zealand while managing the increasing demand on our border protection services.

Immigration Border Officers

Our Border Officers use their expertise and systems to ensure that all passengers travelling to and arriving in New Zealand are entitled to do so. Border Officers assess and screen passengers to facilitate legitimate travellers across the New Zealand Border and keep  immigration risk offshore. INZ also interacts with travellers referred by partner agencies when they arrive to determine if they are eligible to enter New Zealand.

Customs Officers

Some Customs Officers have an Immigration designation and are authorised to carry out certain immigration functions on behalf of Immigration New Zealand (INZ). This typically includes tasks such as verifying passenger travel documents, assessing eligibility to enter the country, and referring cases for further immigration processing when required.

Airline Liaison Officers

Airline Liaison Officers (ALOs) add another layer to INZ’s approach to managing immigration risk at the border. They are currently based at airports in several countries around the world and help support airlines and their passengers to meet New Zealand’s entry requirements.

Entry to New Zealand

There are certain conditions that anyone coming to New Zealand temporarily must meet to enter New Zealand. They must meet all the entry requirements at the time they travel to New Zealand, otherwise they may be denied boarding their flight to New Zealand or refused entry to the country on arrival. If flying into New Zealand, this will mean being returned on the next available flight. If arriving by ship, this may mean either not being allowed to leave the vessel or being returned on the next available flight.

Key statistics

In the 2025 calendar year:

• 6.7 million travellers arrived in New Zealand by air, of which 2.8 million were New Zealand citizens.
• 3,078 travellers were offloaded from flights inbound to New Zealand.
• 534 travellers were turned around at the New Zealand border.
• INZ issued infringement notices to airlines for 108 offences and $240,000 in infringement fees.

The table below shows key statistics at the Border (Air arrivals) from 1 January 2026 to 31 March 2026

Being denied boarding

Travellers can be denied permission to board a flight to New Zealand while still overseas. When a traveller checks in to their flight, the airline will conduct an Advanced Passenger Processing (APP) system check with INZ to determine that they have the appropriate valid visa or New Zealand Electronic Travel Authority (NZeTA) to travel to New Zealand. Based on this screening, airlines receive one of the following directives: “Okay to Board,” “Board with Outward Ticket,” or “Do Not Board.”

If concerns are identified, Border Officers may conduct interviews to assess whether the traveller meets the requirements to travel to New Zealand . This might be with the assistance of an Airline Liaison Officer or airline staff. Those who do not meet the requirements may be denied boarding. This process ensures that only travellers who meet all legal, health, and character requirements are allowed to travel to New Zealand.

The main reasons people are denied boarding include when:

• INZ has identified a concern(s) which must be mitigated before the traveller is allowed to travel to New Zealand.
• The passenger requires a visa to travel to New Zealand but does not hold one or it is not valid because it has expired or been used.
• The passenger requires a NZeTA but does not hold one or does not hold a valid one because it is expired or the incorrect type. 
• The passenger presents a passport that is recorded as being lost/stolen/invalidated or the passenger’s identity is in doubt.
• The passenger is unable to meet entry requirements for New Zealand. 

Being refused entry to New Zealand

If a traveller is assessed as not meeting the requirements to enter New Zealand when they arrive at a New Zealand airport, they may be turned around and put on the next available flight to a country they have the right of entry to. For a traveller on a cruise vessel, they may be held on board the vessel for the duration of their stay in New Zealand. Travellers can be refused entry for a range of reasons, but the most common include concerns about their genuine intent, issues relating to circumstances in their home country, or the use of false or misleading information or documents.

The key difference between being denied boarding and being refused entry lies in timing. A decision to deny boarding happens overseas, before the traveller boards their flight, while a traveller may be refused entry to New Zealand if they arrive in New Zealand but are not permitted to enter the country.

Maritime Travellers

Under Immigration regulations, the majority of maritime travellers are deemed to have entered New Zealand as soon as they cross the baseline into New Zealand’s internal waters. In cases where a vessel arrives at a port without physical INZ presence and INZ wishes to interact with a traveller, this would be handled in cooperation with colleagues in the New Zealand Customs Service.

Cruise and Cargo Crew and Passenger Requirements

Most crew members and passengers travelling to New Zealand on cruise and cargo ships must hold a valid NZeTA before they travel.

New Zealand Electronic Travel Authority (NZeTA)

Carriers' obligations

Commercial carriers flying to New Zealand are subject to obligations under the Immigration Act 2009. Some of these obligations include:

• To provide to Immigration New Zealand Advance Passenger Processing (APP)  and Passenger Name Record (PNR) data for every person (travellers and crew) who intends to board a craft traveling to or from New Zealand before boarding
• To comply with APP boarding directives, and
• To check people travelling to New Zealand hold the required documentation for immigration purposes.

This prevents carriers from bringing people to New Zealand who may be excluded, considered ineligible to enter New Zealand or who may otherwise pose a threat to New Zealand.

Additionally, carriers have obligations to provide Immigration New Zealand with passengers’ booking information and to facilitate travel out of New Zealand for any passengers who are not eligible to enter the country.

Failing to meet their obligations may result in infringements and/or prosecution.

Infringement notices can be NZ$ 1000 or $5000 depending on the offence. If INZ decides to prosecute,  this may result in a conviction of up to three months imprisonment and/or fines of up to NZ$ 50,000.

Since 2011 there have been 15 prosecutions against airlines for failing to comply with their obligations under the Immigration Act 2009. The airlines involved were all found guilty by the courts and ordered to pay fines ranging from NZ$ $5,000 to $12,000.

Working with airline carriers