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A2.10 Acceptable travel documents (29/11/2010)

This section provides a non-exhaustive list of some of the travel documents and their country of origin that INZ considers acceptable, as well as any special conditions that may apply.

A2.10.1 United Kingdom

Any valid British passport is acceptable if it contains the following:

  1. the endorsement 'Holder is entitled to readmission to the United Kingdom', usually on page 5 (page 6 for British Subject or British Dependent/Overseas Territories Citizen); or
  2. a visa to enter a third country after travelling to New Zealand; or
  3. a separate certificate indicating right of abode in or re-entry to the home country; or
  4. a residence class visa for New Zealand approved on the basis that the need to seek deportation would be unlikely to arise.

Note: If a passport does not show the right of abode in or re-entry to any country, the application must be referred to the National Office of INZ before a residence class visa may be issued.

A2.10.5 British passports in current use

The following table describes British passports in current use and the circumstances in which each type is acceptable for use in New Zealand:

Type

Conditions of acceptability for use in NZ

(a) Passports issued since 1 January 1983 that describe the holder as a British Citizen on page 1

All passports of this type are acceptable for entry to New Zealand

(b) Passports issued since 1 January 1983 that describe the holder as a British Dependent/Overseas Territories Citizen and state the name of the dependent territory

Must have an endorsement (usually on page 5) indicating the right of abode in the dependent territory concerned

(c) Passports issued since 1 January 1983 that describe the holder as a British Overseas Citizen

Must have an endorsement indicating the right of abode in or re-entry to the home country

(d) Passports that describe the holder as a British Protected Person

Must have an endorsement indicating the right of abode in or re-entry to the home country

(e) Passports that describe the holder as a British Subject on page 1

Must have a Certificate of Entitlement and/or the endorsement 'Holder has the right of abode in the United Kingdom' (usually on page 5) or

must have an endorsement indicating right of abode in or re-entry to the home country

(f) Passports issued after 1 July 1987 that describe the holder as a British National (Overseas)

Must have either: the endorsement 'the holder of this passport has Hong Kong permanent identity card number (xyz) which states the holder has the right of abode in Hong Kong' or

a Returning Resident entry certificate for the UK

(g) Machine-readable passports issued after July 1988 that are:

  • burgundy red in colour and
  • bear the words 'European Community' (EC) on the front cover

(in the cases of British subjects with the right of abode in the UK and British Dependent/Overseas Territory Citizens) must have a Certificate of Entitlement and/or any endorsement indicating right of abode in the UK

(h) Machine-readable passports issued after July 1988 that are similar to those in (g) but without the words 'European Community' on the front cover

Must be endorsed as in (c), (d), (e), (f), (g)

A2.10.10 Yugoslavia

  1. The following documents from the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (FRY) are acceptable:
    1. standard passport
    2. diplomatic passport
    3. official passport
    4. Emergency Travel Document (folded sheets consisting of 8 pages, no cover and valid only for travel to Yugoslavia).
  2. Passports of the former Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (SFRY) (red cover) are valid until the date specified in the passport or until 31 December 1999 at the latest.

A2.10.15 Hong Kong

  1. Acceptable travel documents are Hong Kong 'Documents of Identity for Visa Purposes' issued by the Hong Kong Government to temporary residents who:
    1. do not possess any other travel document; and
    2. are unable to obtain a national passport.
  2. If the holder is coming to New Zealand for a temporary visit, the document must confirm the right of re-entry to Hong Kong for at least 12 months.
  3. Hong Kong SAR Passports are acceptable travel documents for travel to New Zealand.

A2.10.20 Indonesia

Indonesian Passports for Aliens (also known as Indonesian Stateless Person Passports or Indonesian Stateless Travel Documents) are acceptable, provided that:

  1. the territorial validity statement on page 10 includes New Zealand and all other countries on the holder's itinerary; and
  2. a re-entry permit issued by the Republic of Indonesia is:
    1. valid for no less than 3 months beyond the predicted date of departure from New Zealand; and
    2. endorsed on page 11 or a subsequent page.

A2.10.25 Cook Islands, Niue and Tokelau

Certificates of identity issued by the Cook Islands, Niue and Tokelau governments are acceptable, although holders are subject to visa requirements.

A2.10.30 Palestine

Passports issued by the Palestinian Authority are acceptable as certificates of identity.

A2.10.35 Macau

(Portuguese) Macau Certificate of Identity

  1. The Passaporte Para Estrangeiros (Aliens Passport) issued by the Portugese authorities in Macau, also known as the Macau Certificate of Identity, is acceptable.
  2. The inside cover of the document states that the holder is authorised to return to Macau, a right which must be valid for three months past the planned date of departure in New Zealand.
  3. The differences between the Macau Certificate of Identity and the Portuguese passport are as follows:

The Macau Certificate of Identity

Portuguese Passport

Green-grey cover

Dark green or burgundy cover

Includes an English translation

In Portuguese and French only

Inside cover states that the holder is not a Portuguese subject

 

Issued for 2 years

Issued for 5 years

Macao Special Administrative Region Passport

  1. Macao SAR passports are acceptable for travel to New Zealand.
  2. These passports have been issued by the Government of the Macao Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China since 20 December 1999 to Chinese nationals who are permanent residents of the Macao SAR.
  3. Holders require visas to travel to New Zealand.

Macao Special Administrative Region Travel Permit

  1. Macao SAR Travel Permits are acceptable as Certificates of Identity for travel to New Zealand.
  2. These documents have been issued by the Government of the Macao Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China since 20 December 1999 to those legal permanent residents of Macao who are not entitled to a Macao SAR passport.
  3. Holders require visas to travel to New Zealand.

A2.10.40 Taiwan

Taiwan standard passports, with a green cover and an M, MFA, or X prefix to the passport number are acceptable. (but see A2.30).

A2.10.45 Kosovo

  1. UN Kosovo Travel Documents are acceptable certificates of identity for travel to New Zealand.
  2. UN Kosovo Travel Documents are issued by the United Nations Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK), to persons who are registered habitual residents of Kosovo, Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, in order to facilitate the free movement of the people of the province.
  3. They consist of a hard covered passport book of 32 pages entitled "UNMIK Travel Document/Document de Voyage", with a machine readable strip, and bear a photograph, biodata, signature and thumbprint of the holder.
  4. Holders of these documents are required to obtain visas for travel to New Zealand from the Hague visa office for temporary visas, and from the INZ London Branch for residence class visas.

A2.10.50 Greek passports

As of 1 January 2007 only Greek passports issued on and after 1 January 2006 by the Hellenic Police are acceptable.

Effective 29/11/2010

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