New Zealand visa information

Choose your entry category from your passport, residence status, journey and intended activities. An NZeTA is a travel authority, not a visa or a guarantee of entry. Eligible travellers can receive a Visa Waiver Visitor Visa at the border after meeting entry requirements.

Which category applies?

A valid New Zealand visa normally removes the need for an NZeTA; check that its travel conditions allow your intended arrival. Cruise arrivals have separate eligibility. Travelling by air to join a cruise does not automatically give you the ship-arrival exemption. Eligible Chinese and Pacific Islands Forum travellers coming directly from Australia can have special NZeTA eligibility with specified Australian visas; merely transiting Australia is insufficient. Use the official eligibility tool for the complete conditions.

Duration and fees

An NZeTA normally lasts two years for travellers and allows repeated travel. Visa-waiver visits have calendar-month limits, with a maximum of six months in any twelve-month period. A separately granted Visitor Visa may permit up to six months for multiple entry or nine months for single entry, subject to the visa and the applicable counting period; follow the actual grant. Do not convert these categories into a universal 90-day limit.

Checked 15 October 2026: the NZeTA fee is NZ$17 in the official app or NZ$23 online. The NZ$100 IVL applies where required; Australian citizens and permanent residents and other exempt categories do not pay it. Visitor Visa charges depend on the application and circumstances; use the official fee lookup rather than adding the NZeTA price to that visa.

Remote work and short study

Visitor visas applied for on or after 27 January 2025 allow permitted remote work for an overseas employer or client. Eligible visa-waiver visitors can also do permitted overseas remote work. This does not authorise work for a New Zealand employer, services for a local business or person, or work requiring your presence in New Zealand. A local benefit such as accommodation in exchange for services can count as work. Check your visa conditions. Visitors may study for up to three months where their category allows it; longer study or local employment needs the appropriate authority. Remote work may have tax consequences: visa duration is not a tax exemption. Consult Inland Revenue for your circumstances.

Pre-departure checklist

• Obtain the right visa or authority and allow NZeTA processing time of up to 72 hours.
• Check passport validity, normally at least three months beyond intended departure, and retain your grant offline.
• Prepare onward travel and funds where required. Visa-waiver visitors normally need NZ$1,000 per month, or NZ$400 if accommodation for the entire stay is prepaid.
• Complete the free official New Zealand Traveller Declaration (NZTD), separately from an NZeTA, for each traveller including children.
• For air travel, submission opens 24 hours before the journey to New Zealand starts and must be complete before passport control. Follow the official long-haul and stopover timing guidance for your connections.
• Declare relevant food, plants and outdoor equipment, clean used gear, and check transit requirements of every connection country.

Remote work; NZeTA; Visitor Visa; IVL; NZTD; Visa fee lookup; NZTD timing and connections.