Visas for tour guides or tour escorts
A tour guide and a tour escort have different roles and responsibilities, and their visa requirements are also different.
The main difference in the roles of a tour guide and a tour escort is that a guide works for a New Zealand employer, while a tour escort works for an employer outside of New Zealand.
A tour guide must have a work visa, but a tour escort can come to New Zealand on a visitor visa.
Visas for tour guides
A tour guide (or 'tour leader') is someone who:
- leads a tour group in New Zealand
- is employed by a New Zealand employer
- may be living in New Zealand
- normally provides in-depth local knowledge of New Zealand society, history, geography, etc.
If you will be performing some or all of the duties of a tour guide for a New Zealand employer, you must have a Specific Purpose Work Visa before you arrive.
This type of visa allows you to travel in and out of New Zealand as many times as you like while your visa is valid – that is, you have multiple-entry travel conditions. The following will normally apply:
- If your employment is ongoing, you will be given a 3-year visa allowing multiple visits, with a one-month stay each visit (or as appropriate).
- If your employment is for a limited time, you will be given a visa to match the length of your employment.
If you are a tour guide who is a Chinese national, you may be able to apply for a China Special Work Visa. You can apply from within New Zealand if you hold a valid work or student visa.
Visas for tour escorts
Tour escorts have different responsibilities to a tour guide.
A tour escort:
- works for an employer outside New Zealand
- lives outside New Zealand
- travels and stays with the tour group
- is responsible for planning and organisational support — such as organising the group's arrival and departure and providing translation
- does not usually lead activities or provide in-depth local knowledge on a tour.
A tour escort should apply for a Tour Escort Visitor Visa to carry out their duties in New Zealand.
If you are from a visa waiver country, you do not need to apply for a visitor visa, but you must:
- carry a letter from your employer, and
- have an NZeTA (New Zealand Electronic Travel Authority) before travelling to New Zealand.