Business Visitor Visa

Apply if you want to visit New Zealand for business reasons. You must have enough money to live on while you are here or have the financial support of your employer.

Length of stay
Up to

3 months in 1 year

Cost
From
NZD $341
Processing time
80% within
1.5 weeks
With this visa you can
  • Visit New Zealand for business reasons.
  • Study for up to 3 months.
  • Include your partner and dependent children in your application.
Things to note

What you need to apply

Check if you are eligible to apply for this visa and what supporting documents and information you need to provide.

View All Evidence
Tip

Your passport must be valid for at least 3 months after you plan to leave New Zealand.

  • 1 acceptable photo if you apply online, or 2 photos if you use a paper application form.
  • your passport or certificate of identity.

Acceptable photos

If you apply online, you must upload a copy of your passport when you apply. We will let you know if you need to send your passport after you have applied.

Providing your passport for online applications

If you submit a paper application, provide your original passport or a certified copy.  We can usually process your application faster if you provide your original passport.

Tips

If you are a citizen of China and you submit a paper application form in China, you must also complete a supplementary form.

Supplementary form for Chinese citizens (INZ 1027) PDF 338KB

If you are submitting a paper application form, you must provide a supplementary form for Hong Kong and Macao visitors, workers and students.

Supplementary form for Hong Kong and Macao visitors, workers and students (INZ 1220) PDF 240KB

Also provide your:

  • Hukou (household registration book)
  • Chinese identity card.

Also provide a copy of your Identity card.

We may ask you to have a chest X-ray, a medical examination or both as proof of your good health.

If you are staying less than:

  • 6 months you do not normally need a chest X-ray. 
  • 12 months you do not normally need a medical certificate. 

Who needs an X-ray or medical examination

When we process your application we let you know if we need you to have a chest X-ray or medical examination.

Acceptable standard of health criteria for visa approvals

Provide medical certificates if requested

Tips

You must provide a chest x-ray completed in the last 3 months, even if you've provided one to us previously, if:

  • you have spent 6 consecutive months in China since the last x-ray certificate was issued, and
  • you are now coming to NZ for more than 6 months.

If you have a criminal conviction or are a security risk to New Zealand we may not be able to grant you a visa.

Good character for temporary visas

You must provide police certificates if your total time in New Zealand will be 24 months or longer across all visits. This includes any time you have spent in New Zealand in the past on other visas, even if you have been out of the country since then.

You also must provide police certificates if we ask for them.

Police certificates must be less than 6 months old when you submit your application. They must be from any country you are a citizen of, or have spent more than 5 years in since you turned 17.

If you are 16 years old or younger you do not need to provide police certificates.

Providing police certificates

How to get a police certificate

If you have already sent us police certificates with a previous visa application and they are less than 24 months old, you do not need to send them again.

When we decide if your intentions are genuine, we consider all the information:

  • you provide to support your application
  • we have about your personal circumstances
  • you provided in any previous applications.

Genuine intentions to visit, study or work in NZ

To bring family:

  • you must provide evidence of your relationship with them, like marriage and birth certificates
  • you must provide proof of their identity
  • they must be of good character
  • they must be in good health.

Partnership
Dependent children

Tips

A family can include yourself, your partner, and dependent children 19 and under.

You should provide copies of identity cards for family members included in your application.

You should provide copies of family members Hukou (household registration book) included in your application.

You must provide a letter from your employer, or the New Zealand company you’ll be doing business with, confirming:

You must have either:

  • the financial support of your employer
  • at least NZ $1,000 a month for each person, or
  • if you’ve already paid for your accommodation, at least NZ $400 a month.

Evidence of funds can include:

  • bank statements
  • credit card statements
  • bank drafts
  • travellers’ cheques
  • a ‘Sponsorship Form for Temporary Entry’ completed by an acceptable sponsor
  • hotel receipts, if you've already paid for your accommodation.

If you are sponsored, your sponsor must provide evidence they can look after you in New Zealand. Evidence can include:

  • recent bank statements
  • pay slips
  • employment agreement
  • accommodation ownership or payment of rent

What sponsors must do – responsibilities and obligations

Sponsorship Form for Temporary Entry (INZ 1025) PDF 414KB

Tips

You may be eligible for streamlined visa processing arrangements.

Check if you are eligible

If you are pregnant, there are additional requirements.

Paying for maternity care

When you arrive in New Zealand you may be asked to show that you intend to leave the country — for example, a return ticket or proof you have enough money to buy a ticket out of New Zealand. This is in addition to the funds you have to live on.

If you are sponsored and you do not have a return ticket your sponsor can provide recent bank statements to show they have enough money to buy you a ticket out of New Zealand.

You must declare in your visa application that you will pay the costs of any health care or medical assistance you receive in New Zealand.

Tips

We recommend that you have full medical insurance for the length of your visit.

Documents must be translated by someone who meets our requirements for providing English translations.

Providing English translations of supporting documents

Process and costs

The information below will help you understand the process, timeframes and costs involved in applying for this visa, so you can plan ahead and have the best chance of submitting a complete application.

Notes

We cannot display any process or costs information until you have provided your country details. Enter your country details in the panel above to view information relevant to your situation.

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How to submit

Payment methods and receiving centre details if applicable.

Notes

We cannot display any receiving centre or payment method information until you have provided your country details. Enter your country details in the panel above to view information relevant to your situation.

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Conditions

These are the conditions that you must meet once you have your visa.

Entry permission

You must apply for entry permission when you arrive in New Zealand. You can do this by completing a New Zealand traveller declaration (NZTD).

New Zealand Customs and Biosecurity also check that you meet their entry requirements.

Arriving in New Zealand

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

Notes

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 for the length of your visa or have a sponsor.

Notes

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 a Business Visitor Visa, but you can carry out the specific business, for which you were granted a visa.

While you are in New Zealand, you may be able to work remotely for an employer or client based outside New Zealand.

Working remotely in New Zealand on a visitor visa

Study

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

Visa expiry

You must leave New Zealand before your visa expires.