Entry permission

You must apply for entry permission when you arrive in New Zealand. You can do this by completing an arrival card, which you are given on the way to New Zealand.

Arriving in New Zealand

You can be refused entry permission if:

you do not meet our character requirements
your circumstances have changed since you were granted a visa
you refuse to let us take your photo or to provide us with your fingerprints or an iris scan, if asked for them
you are unable to provide evidence of any onward travel or funds required by the conditions of your visa.

If you are refused entry to New Zealand

Before you travel to New Zealand

Duration – Visitors and tourists

You can visit New Zealand as a genuine tourist for up to 9 months in an 18-month period.

The 18-month period is calculated backwards from the last day you intend to be in New Zealand.
If the last day you’ll be here is 1 December, then your 18-month period will begin on 1 June of the year before.

You can apply for another 3 months’ stay and extend your stay to 12 months in a 24-month period, if:

you need more time to complete your tourist itinerary
you can’t leave New Zealand for reasons beyond your control
you’ve applied for residence for the first time.

To apply for another 3 months’ stay, you must have financially supported yourself and not worked, studied or been sponsored during your stay.

If you’ve recently visited New Zealand for a total of 12 months, you have to remain outside New Zealand for 12 months before you can apply for another Visitor Visa.

Visa expiry

You must leave New Zealand before your visa expires.

Visa expiry dates are printed on a visa label or included in a visa letter.

Travel

If travelling in and out of New Zealand, a valid multiple entry travel condition is needed to return to New Zealand.

Changing the conditions of a visitor visa

If applying from inside New Zealand, we will normally give multiple entry travel conditions when we grant a student visa.

If there are no multiple entry travel conditions and you leave New Zealand the visa will expire.

The travel conditions will be listed on the visa label or in a visa letter.

Onward travel

Unless your visa label or letter says “Return/onward travel not required”, you must have either of the following:

a travel ticket to a country you can enter
an acceptable sponsor who can pay for your travel ticket out of New Zealand to a country you can enter.

What sponsors must do – responsibilities and obligations

Unless your visa label or letter states “Return/onward travel not required” you must have a ticket to leave New Zealand whenever you travel here.

Funds or sponsorship

You must have enough money to support yourself while you are in New Zealand or have a sponsor.

What sponsors must do – responsibilities and obligations

You may be asked for evidence you have enough funds to support yourself when you check in or arrive in New Zealand.

Work

You cannot work in New Zealand on this visa.

If you’re coming to New Zealand to take up an offer of employment, you should apply for a Work Visa.

If you’re coming to New Zealand for a special purpose, such as a work requirement, or as a partner or family member, you should first consider the Special Category Visitor Visas.

If you want to conduct business while in New Zealand, you should apply for a Business Visitor Visa.

Business Visitor Visa

Study

You may study for up to 3 months in any 12 month period.

School-aged children can study for up to 3 months in any calendar year. Children studying for more than 2 weeks must attend a school that is signatory to the ‘Code of Practice for the Pastoral Care of International Students’.

Code of Practice for the Pastoral Care of International Students

Conditions