Chinese and Pacific Island visitors travelling from Australia

Visit New Zealand without a visa

If you have an eligible Australian visa and a passport from China or a Pacific Islands Forum country, you may be able to visit New Zealand from Australia without a visa. If you are eligible, you can request a New Zealand Electronic Travel Authority (NZeTA) instead of applying for a visa.

Who can apply

To travel to New Zealand without a visa you must:

• be travelling to New Zealand directly from Australia
• have a passport from China or a Pacific Islands Forum country
• have an eligible Australian visa that is valid when you check in to your flight to New Zealand, and
• have a valid NZeTA.

An NZeTA is not a visa, however if you travel to New Zealand with an NZeTA and are granted entry permission, we will give you a visitor visa at the border.

Travelling to New Zealand directly from Australia

You can only use an NZeTA if you are travelling directly to New Zealand from Australia. This means you must:

• be in Australia (you have entered Australia by passing through immigration), and
• be flying from an Australian airport.

You cannot use an NZeTA if:

• you are transiting through Australia on the way to New Zealand, or
• you are flying from any country other than Australia.

Pacific Islands Forum countries

The Pacific Islands Forum countries are:

• the Federated States of Micronesia
• Fiji
• Kiribati
• Nauru
• Palau
• Papua New Guinea
• Republic of the Marshall Islands
• Samoa
• Solomon Islands
• Tonga
• Tuvalu, and
• Vanuatu.

The Pacific Islands Forum

Eligible Australian visas

You must have one of the following Australian visas.

You can check your Australian visa name and subclass number in your visa grant notification letter or online in ​​​​​​​Visa Entitlement Verification Online (VEVO).

Check visa details and conditions — Australian Department of Home Affairs

Visitor visas

• Visitor — Subclass 600
• Work and holiday visa — Subclass 462
• Temporary work (short stay specialist) — Subclass 400
• eVisitor — Subclass 651
• Working holiday visa — Subclass 417

Study and training visas

• Student — Subclass 500
• Temporary Graduate visa — Subclass 485
• Training — Subclass 407
• Student guardian — Subclass 590

Work visas

• Skills in demand — Subclass 482
• Work and holiday — Subclass 462
• Temporary graduate visa — Subclass 485
• Temporary work (short stay specialist) — Subclass 400
• Skilled regional (provisional) — Subclass 491
• Business innovation and investment (provisional) — Subclass 188
• Skilled employer sponsored regional (provisional) — Subclass 494
• Training — Subclass 407
• Business (long stay) — Subclass 457
• Business owner (provisional) — Subclass 160
• Investor (provisional) — Subclass 162
• Senior executive (Provisional) — Subclass 161
• Skilled - recognised graduate — Subclass 476
• State/Territory sponsored business owner (provisional) — Subclass 163
• State/Territory sponsored investor (provisional) — Subclass 165
• State/Territory sponsored senior executive (provisional) — Subclass 164

Family and partner visas

• Partner (temporary) — Subclass 820
• Partner (provisional) — Subclass 309
• Sponsored parent — Subclass 870
• New Zealand citizen family relationship — Subclass 461
• Prospective marriage — Subclass 300
• Contributory parent (Temporary) — Subclass 173
• Dependent child — Subclass 445
• Contributory aged parent (Temporary) — Subclass 884

Retirement visas

• Retirement — Subclass 410
• Investor retirement — Subclass 405

Apply for an NZeTA

With an NZeTA you can:

• travel to New Zealand without applying for a visa
• stay in New Zealand for up to 3 months at a time
• travel to New Zealand multiple times while your NZeTA is valid (you must be travelling from Australia each time)
• transit through New Zealand for up to 24 hours.

You can find the requirements for an NZeTA and how to request one here:

New Zealand Electronic Travel Authority (NZeTA)

Make sure to request your NZeTA at least 72 hours before you travel.

Fees, decision times and where to apply