How long it takes to process an application
Processing times for NZeTA, visitor, student, work and other visas.
Waiting for a visa
- Checking your visa application status
- How long it takes to process an application
- Skilled Residence and Residence from Work application processing
- 2021 Resident Visa processing times
- Working holiday visa processing updates
- Recovery Visa processing
- Why some applications are processed faster than others
- Fees, decision times & where to apply
- Request or change your personal information
- Escalation for urgent applications
We advise travellers not to book non-refundable travel until their visa has been approved.
Our visa processing times are based on the most recent information we have about that visa type. For visa types that opened more recently or have low volumes, it can take longer to build an accurate picture of processing times.
To provide clearer information, we are improving the way we publish processing times, and how often we update them.
How to understand this information
Our processing times are based on applications we have decided (approved or declined).
The processing times in this page are based on applications decided in September 2023. We are reporting on applications received since each visa reopened.
We use the median value to determine the average.
‘Weekdays’ means Monday to Friday.
Accredited Employer Work Visas
Most applications are taking longer than 10 days to process. We recommend employers allow at least 6 weeks to apply for an accreditation and 6 weeks to apply for a Job Check with current processing times. We are working to improve these.
Employer accreditation
We aim to process straightforward applications for employer accreditation in 10 weekdays, excluding public holidays.
On average, we process employer accreditation applications in 33 weekdays. 90% of applications are processed within 47 weekdays.
Once approved, accreditation lasts for between 12 and 24 months. Employer accreditations will automatically be extended by 12 months if their first accreditation is applied for by 4 July 2023.
Job Checks
We aim to process straightforward applications for Job Checks in 10 weekdays, excluding public holidays. Straightforward applications include all required information and do not need follow up contact from us.
On average, we process Job Check applications in 36 weekdays. 90% of applications are processed within 49 weekdays.
Accredited Employer Work Visas (AEWV)
We aim to process straightforward AEWV applications in 20 weekdays, excluding public holidays.
On average, we process AEWV applications in 15 weekdays. 90% of applications are processed within 62 weekdays.
Visitor visas
We aim to process visitor visa applications in 20 weekdays, excluding public holidays.
90% of applications are processed within 31 weekdays.
These times are for all the visitor visas we are processing. To see the timeframes for a specific visa:
Student visas
We aim to process straightforward applications for student visas in 30 weekdays, excluding public holidays.
On average, we process student visa applications in 24 weekdays. 90% of applications are processed within 49 weekdays.
Why some applications are processed faster than others
You can also find out online how long it takes to process visas for international students depending on the type of education provider.
Working holiday visas
On average, we process working holiday visa applications in 3 weekdays. 90% of applications are processed within 30 weekdays.
NZeTA (New Zealand Electronic Travel Authority)
Some visitors and transit passengers can travel to New Zealand without a visa if they get an NZeTA (New Zealand Electronic Travel Authority) before travel.
Most NZeTA requests are processed within 72 hours. Many requests are processed more quickly but some may take longer.
Other visas and applications
| Visa | 50% of applications completed within: | 90% of applications completed within: |
|---|---|---|
| Partner of a New Zealander resident visa | 5 months | 15 months |
| Permanent Resident Visa | 19 weekdays | 28 weekdays |
| Skilled Migrant Category Resident Visa | 5 months | 7 months |
| Variation of travel conditions on a resident visa | 7 weekdays | 20 weekdays |
| Visa Transfers | 7 weekdays | 16 weekdays |
Visa Transfer requests can be made online or on paper. It currently takes 5 weeks to enter paper applications into our system. Once they are in our system they are usually finalised within 3 days. The time it takes to add paper applications into our system is not included in the above timeframes.
Other resident visas
Find recent processing times for other resident visas.