A country of Rule Followers

One thing to know about New Zealand is that it has a pretty strong culture of rule following. As an American, we always assume the a rule is a rough suggestion and not an absolute. If the speed limit is 80, then 85 is close enough — not so here. If they say “no fruits or nuts,” they mean no fruits and nuts. Keep that in mind as you are interacting with the people and systems in the country.

VISAS and Length of Stay:

Americans and most Europeans (from any visa waiver country) do not need a visa per se to enter New Zealand. What you do need is a NZeTA (New Zealand Electronic Travel Authority). You must hold an NZeTA if you are boarding a flight or cruise that leaves for New Zealand, and you:

• have a permanent resident visa for Australia that lets you return to Australia from another country. This is a relatively easy process and gets you authorization to enter the country for 2 years.
• are visiting on a passport from a visa waiver country — that is, a country whose passport holders do not need to get a visa before they travel to New Zealand
• are a cruise ship passenger
• are passing through Auckland International Airport to another country and traveling on a passport from a visa waiver country or a transit visa waiver country
• are passing through Auckland International Airport as a transit passenger to or from Australia, or
• have a permanent resident visa for Australia that lets you return to Australia from another country. 

It is a relatively easy process and will give you the ability to enter New Zealand for 2 years without reapplying. The process costs NZ$17 and takes approximately 72 hrs to get approval. The site to apply is found here: NZeTA Application

Passport:

To enter New Zealand your passport must not expire within:

• 3 months after the date you plan to leave New Zealand, or
• 1 month after the date you plan to leave New Zealand — if your passport was issued by a country that has a New Zealand embassy or consulate that issues passports of that country.

Personally, I never let my passport get closer than 6 months to expiration as a rule of thumb.

How Long Can I Stay?

If you meet the requirements for the visa waiver program, you can enter New Zealand for up to 3 months (or 6 months for UK citizens) without a visa.

If you wish to stay longer you can apply for an actual visa that will allow you to stay longer. A single entry visa allows you to stay 6 months with an option to extend to 9 months in an 18 month period. You can also get a multiple entry visa that lets you come and go (say you want to pop over to Aussie) and stay for a total of 6 months over a 12-month period.

It is all a bit confusing if you want to stay a long time, but mostly the process is easy and will set you back NZ$341. More information can be found here: Visitor Visas

BioSecurity

Seems a bit odd that I need to put this section in here, but it is pretty important. One thing to know about New Zealand is that they take their biosecurity very seriously. This is understandable since it is an isolated island heavily dependent on agriculture and is full of totally cool birds that are mostly defenseless against the big nasties from other continents.

You will need to fill out a declaration form when you arrive that states whether you have anything that might be a biosecurity risk. Make sure you fill this out with all honesty. As stated above, this is a country of rule followers and there is no “I’m sorry I didn’t know.” If you fail to declare you will be, at a minimum, fined on the spot … and trust me the fines are not small. So declare if you have anything.

The main things to worry about are food and outdoor equipment. Clean all of your outdoor equipment thoroughly before arrival. This includes hiking boots. Tents will always raise a red flag, so make sure they are clean and Kiwi tidy. Don’t sneak food in. When in doubt either, declare it or don’t bring it. More information can found here: Biosecurity