Who needs an NZeTA
An NZeTA is required before travel by several groups heading to Auckland, and the list is wider than "tourists from Europe". Immigration New Zealand's NZeTA overview covers citizens of visa waiver countries, Australian permanent residents, cruise and cargo ship passengers, and transit passengers.
The visa waiver list runs to 59 countries and territories, from Andorra to Vatican City. A visa waiver passport lets you visit for less than three months without a visa — six months if you are a British citizen with the right to reside permanently in the UK — but only once you hold the NZeTA that goes with it.
Two groups get caught out often. Australian permanent residents are not Australian citizens for this purpose and do need an NZeTA. And cruise passengers need one too: Immigration New Zealand's guidance on arriving by cruise ship says that if you arrive by cruise or cargo ship you need an NZeTA rather than a visa, unless you already hold one.
Who does not need one
New Zealand citizens and Australian citizens need neither a visa nor an NZeTA to enter New Zealand. That is stated plainly across Immigration New Zealand's visitor pages, and it holds whether you arrive by air at Auckland or by sea.
Anyone who already holds a valid New Zealand visa is also outside the NZeTA system. The NZeTA exists to cover people travelling without a visa; if you hold a visitor, work, student or resident visa, you travel on that instead and do not request an NZeTA on top of it.
This table sets out what the main traveller types need before boarding for Auckland.
| Traveller | NZeTA | Visitor levy |
|---|---|---|
| New Zealand or Australian citizen | No | No |
| Australian permanent resident | Yes | Check the exemption list |
| Visa waiver passport holder | Yes | Yes, normally |
| Holder of a valid NZ visa | No | Paid with the visa, if charged |
| Cruise ship passenger | Yes, unless visa held | Yes, normally |
| Transit passenger via Auckland | Often yes | Exempt |
Nationality is not the only test. Immigration New Zealand's own eligibility tool asks about your passport, your route and your reason for travel, and it is the only answer that binds — the table above is a starting point, not a ruling on your case.
What the NZeTA costs
The NZeTA request fee depends on how you ask for it. Immigration New Zealand's notice on requesting an NZeTA gives NZD 17 using the official mobile app and NZD 23 using the official INZ website.
The app is the cheaper route and it also lets one person request NZeTAs for up to 10 people in the same session, where the online form takes a separate request for each traveller. The website suits you if you cannot or would rather not install the app; you give up the saving and the batch handling, nothing else.
Fees are set by regulation and do change. Confirm the current amount on the official page or in the app before you budget for a family.
The visitor conservation levy
The International Visitor Conservation and Tourism Levy is a separate charge that funds conservation and tourism infrastructure, and most visitors pay it in the same transaction as their NZeTA. Immigration New Zealand's page on paying the visitor levy gives the amount as NZD 100 and says it falls due when you request an NZeTA or apply for a visa that carries the charge.
The same page lists who does not pay. The exemptions include Australian and New Zealand passport holders, passport holders from many Pacific Island nations, transit passengers at Auckland International Airport, New Zealand resident visa holders, Australian Resident Visa holders, and holders of a Business Visitor Visa or an APEC business travel card.
Two things about the levy catch people out. It is charged per traveller, so a family of four pays four times. And it is not refunded if your request is declined — Immigration New Zealand states that it does not refund the levy even then.
Transiting through Auckland Airport
Transiting through Auckland without leaving the airport still counts as entering New Zealand's immigration system, and this is where travellers most often assume wrongly. Immigration New Zealand's guidance for transit passengers defines a transit passenger as someone staying less than 24 hours who remains in the transit area, on the aircraft, or in the custody of New Zealand Police.
On that page, an NZeTA is required for Australian permanent residents, for citizens of visa waiver and transit visa waiver countries, for anyone travelling to or from Australia whatever their nationality, and for passport holders not covered by an exemption. New Zealand citizens and permanent residents and travellers on an Australian passport need nothing. Anyone who cannot get an NZeTA and is not exempt needs a transit visa instead.
The 24-hour rule bites in a practical way. There is no accommodation inside the transit area, so if your connection means an overnight in an airport hotel, you are no longer transiting: you need a visitor visa to enter New Zealand properly. Check the gap between your flights before you assume the transit route covers you.
Timing and validity
Immigration New Zealand asks you to allow 72 hours for an NZeTA to be issued, and adds that it may take longer if further investigation is needed. Requests are often granted much faster, but 72 hours is the figure the agency itself publishes, so it is the one to plan around.
Once granted, an NZeTA is valid for two years for ordinary travellers and five years for crew, and it allows multiple entries within that window. The cap is on time spent, not trips: you cannot be in New Zealand for more than six months in any 12-month period on it.
An NZeTA is not a visa and it does not guarantee entry. The NZeTA terms of use put it directly: it does not guarantee you will be able to travel to or enter New Zealand. A border officer at Auckland still makes that decision, and can still ask for onward tickets and evidence of funds.
The Traveller Declaration
The New Zealand Traveller Declaration is a separate, free step you complete close to departure, and it is not a substitute for an NZeTA. The official NZTD site says it collects your travel, customs, immigration and biosecurity information, that it is free, and that everyone travelling into New Zealand must complete one — including New Zealand passport holders, babies and children, one declaration per person.
The timing window is tight and deliberate. Flying in, you can submit any time from 24 hours before departure until you reach passport control. Arriving by sea, the window opens 24 hours before your vessel leaves its last foreign port and closes when it berths at the first New Zealand port. You cannot change a digital declaration once you have passed through passport control.
Transit passengers are the exception. The NZTD guidance on arriving in New Zealand states that transit passengers do not need to complete a declaration — though they may still need the NZeTA or transit visa described above.
Before you book your flights
Do the eligibility check before you commit to dates, because the answer occasionally changes the itinerary rather than just adding a form.
Fees, validity periods and exemption lists in this guide were read on Immigration New Zealand and New Zealand Traveller Declaration pages on 7 September 2026. All of them can change by regulation without much notice, so confirm the current numbers on the official pages when you actually make the request.