New Zealand Entry & Transit Requirements

Preparing for Travel

All travellers entering or transiting New Zealand are subject to the Immigration Service's Advance Passenger Screening.

Under Advance Passenger Screening, your travel documents (including passport and any visas) are checked and validated before you board your flight to New Zealand. These must be valid and up-to-date, since incomplete or invalid documentation may result in delays at check-in or even prevent you from boarding your flight.

Find out more about:

Entering New Zealand on a One-way Ticket
Transiting New Zealand

Entering New Zealand on a One-way Ticket

People travelling to New Zealand on a one-way ticket must be either:

a New Zealand passport holder
an Australian passport holder
a permanent resident of Australia holding a valid Australian Resident Return Visa allowing an indefinite stay
other foreign national holding a valid New Zealand Returning Resident's Visa

All other visitors to New Zealand must possess a return or onward ticket to a country to which you have right of entry.

If you are a visitor to New Zealand making an international side trip (returning back to New Zealand before continuing your journey), please remember to take your onward ticket with you on the side trip. You will need to present this when checking in for your return flight to New Zealand.

Transiting New Zealand

Immigration New Zealand's transit visa policy requires transit visas for all travel through New Zealand, regardless of embarkation point or destination with an exception to citizens of:

New Zealand - or must be holders of a valid re-entry permit ("Returning Resident's Visa") issued by New Zealand and permitting unrestricted definite residence in New Zealand.
Australia - or must be holders of a valid re-entry permit ("Resident Return Visa") issued by Australia and permitting unrestricted indefinite residence in Australia.
Britain - Holders of British passports provided holding passport endorsed 'British Citizen' or passport that clearly establishes right of abode in the United Kingdom (max permitted stay 6 months); or in addition to their passport, alternative documentary evidence to establish right of abode in the United Kingdom; or passports endorsed "British National (Overseas)" (max permitted stay 3 months).

Non-New Zealand citizens will be required to hold a transit visa unless:

they hold a current New Zealand visa; or
they are a citizen of Australia travelling with a valid Australian passport; or
they are from a visa-free country
their destination is Australia and they hold a current visa to enter Australia; or they are a citizen of one or more of the countries specified in the transit visa country waiver list below.

Visa Free Countries for travel to New Zealand

If you are visiting New Zealand for three months or less and are from a country in the list below, you will not need a visa to enter or to transit:

Andorra, Argentina, Austria, Bahrain, Belgium, Brazil, Brunei, Bulgaria, Canada, Chile, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia*, Finland, France, Germany, Greece*****, Hong Kong**, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Korea (South), Kuwait, Latvia*, Liechtenstein, Lithuania*, Luxembourg, Malaysia, Malta, Mexico, Monaco, Netherlands, Norway, Oman, Poland, Portugal***, Qatar, Romania, San Marino, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Slovak Republic, Slovenia, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, United Arab Emirates, United States of America****, Uruguay and Vatican City

* Visa waiver does not apply to people travelling on alien's (non-citizen's) passports issued by these countries.
** Residents of Hong Kong travelling on Hong Kong Special Administrative Region or British National (Overseas) passports.
*** Portuguese passport holders must also have the right to live permanently in Portugal.
**** Including nationals of the USA.
***** Greek passport holders whose passports were issued on and after 1 January 2006. (Greek passports issued before 1 January 2006 are not acceptable for travel after 1 January 2007).

Transit Visa Country Waiver list

If you are in transit through New Zealand, regardless of which country your travel commenced from or is for travel to, you do not need a Transit Visa if you are a citizen of one or more of the following countries: