New Zealand tourist visa (Visitor Visa)

Citizens of visa waiver countries use the NZeTA instead, and Australian citizens need neither. Everyone else applies for this visa to holiday, visit family and friends, or take a short course of up to 3 months. Groups travelling together for a month or less, for example to an event, may use the Group Visitor Visa, in which each member still pays the fee.

You must be in good health, of good character, have genuine reasons for visiting, have enough money or an acceptable sponsor, and show you can leave New Zealand at the end of your stay. Visitors staying under 6 months do not normally need a chest X-ray, and those staying under 12 months normally need no medical certificate; INZ can still ask for them.

Police certificates are needed only if you are 17 or older and your total time in New Zealand will reach 24 months, counting earlier visits. A multiple-entry visa is possible if you have been outside New Zealand for at least 9 of the last 18 months.

If you pay for yourself, you need at least NZD 1,000 for each month of your stay, or NZD 400 a month if your accommodation is prepaid. Bank or credit card statements must show the account holder, the bank and the currency. A sponsor, individual or organisation, completes the Sponsorship Form for Temporary Entry and can support it with bank statements, payslips and accommodation evidence. You or your sponsor pay any medical costs in New Zealand.

Create an account in Immigration Online, complete the form, upload your passport, funds evidence, travel plans and any sponsor documents, and pay the fee. INZ recommends not booking non-refundable travel until the visa is approved, and applying early because September to March is the busiest period. The visa is issued as an eVisa.

You can apply for a further Visitor Visa from inside New Zealand, but the total cannot exceed 9 months in any 18-month period. Leaving New Zealand on a single-entry visa ends it.