Before you travel to New Zealand
You must have the right travel documents to board your flight or ship to New Zealand. Most people will need a visa or an NZeTA, and a valid passport.
Check you have the right visa or an NZeTA
Most travellers must have a visa or a New Zealand Electronic Travel Authority (NZeTA) before travelling to New Zealand.
Check if you need an NZeTA or visa
Before you travel, check that you have:
- the right visa for what you want to do in New Zealand, or an NZeTA to travel here, and
- a valid passport, or other acceptable travel document such as
, that matches the details in your visa or NZeTA.
Note
If you are a New Zealand or Australian citizen, you do not need a visa or an NZeTA.
Australian permanent residents normally need an NZeTA.
Australian citizens and permanent residents travelling to New Zealand
Check your passport or other travel document
You must have an acceptable travel document that is valid for travel to New Zealand. This includes a valid passport or
You may not be allowed to check in if your travel document is not valid for travel to New Zealand.
Check that your passport or other travel document will not expire until 3 months after the date you plan to leave New Zealand.
If you live in New Zealand permanently — for example, if you have a resident visa — your travel document only needs to be valid for travel to New Zealand.
Make sure that your passport or other travel document has not been:
- damaged
- reported as lost or stolen, or
- invalidated by the government that issued it.
If you get a new passport or other travel document, you must arrange to have your visa transferred to it.
Gather documents you need for your travel
Gather the documents you may need to show when you travel, such as:
- your eVisa letter or your NZeTA confirmation email
- evidence that you can meet the conditions of your visa — such as your travel ticket to leave New Zealand, and bank statements to show you have enough money to pay your living expenses while you are here.
Check or change the conditions of your visa
Note
We recommend you have English translations of any documents that are not in English, in case you need to show them.
- your passport or
details match the details on your eVisa, and - you have the right visa for what you plan to do in New Zealand.
- your NZeTA confirmation email
- a current passport that matches your NZeTA details
- proof of your travel out of New Zealand.
- an NZeTA if you are from a
, or - a visa if you are from a country that requires a visa to visit New Zealand.
- NZeTA confirmation email, or
- eVisa letter.
If you have a visa for New Zealand, before you leave, check that:
Travelling on a different passport
Your visa details are linked to the passport (or
If you will be travelling on a different passport or certificate of identity to the one you used to get your visa, you must apply to transfer your visa to the new document before you travel.
If you have an NZeTA to travel to New Zealand, before you leave, check that your passport details match those on your NZeTA.
If the details on your NZeTA need updating, you can request a change.
How to request a change to your NZeTA
When you check in for your flight or to your cruise or cargo ship, you will need:
At check-in or when you arrive in New Zealand, you may be asked for proof that you have enough money to pay your living expenses during your stay.
If you are a
How to request a change to your NZeTA
Transferring your visa to a new passport
As a
You can ask the airline to arrange for your bags to be transferred to your flight out of Auckland. If they cannot do this, you will need to go to the International Transit Desk when you arrive in New Zealand to get your bags transferred.
If you are flying into New Zealand to join a cruise or board a cargo ship, you must have:
You need to get your visa or NZeTA before coming to New Zealand.
Check if you need a visa or an NZeTA
You will need to have an NZeTA, unless you already have a valid New Zealand visa.
New Zealand Electronic Travel Authority (NZeTA)
Checking in to your cruise or cargo ship
When you check in to your cruise or cargo ship, you need to show evidence of your NZeTA or visa to check-in staff. This can be your:
Arriving at your first New Zealand port
As a cruise or cargo ship passenger, you are
If you plan to leave your cruise or cargo ship to fly out of New Zealand, or to stay on in New Zealand, you need to apply for a visa.
If you are planning to fly out of New Zealand, you must have evidence of your travel out of New Zealand such as a flight ticket out of New Zealand.
Checks we do before you board
When you check in to travel to New Zealand, we receive information from your airline or cruise or cargo ship line, which we use to check our records to make sure you are allowed to travel here.
How we collect and use information about people flying in and out of New Zealand
We may need to ask you some questions before you board, or when you arrive. This applies to everyone, including people who already hold a visa or NZeTA, or who are in transit.
When you arrive in New Zealand
Everyone entering New Zealand must complete a New Zealand Traveller Declaration (NZTD) form.
When you arrive at the New Zealand border, you must apply for
Note
If you are a transit passenger, you do not need to complete an NZTD form or apply for entry permission because you are not entering New Zealand.