A visitor visa does not allow you to work in New Zealand.
A visitor visa allows you to stay in New Zealand as a visitor for a limited amount of time. A visitor visa allows a person to travel to the New Zealand border and, if they are granted permission to enter, it allows them to remain in the country.
It allows you to:
- Visit as a tourist
- Visit friends or relatives
- Play sport or perform in cultural events without pay
- Enter New Zealand to get married
- Undertake short-term study.
A visitor visa allows you to study one or more courses of up to a total of three months in each of the 12-month periods your visa is valid. School-aged visitor visa holders can attend a primary, intermediate, or secondary school for a single period of study of up to three months per calendar year provided the study finishes within that calendar year. You are also not permitted to study in term one of a school year if you held a visitor visa and undertook a single period of study in term four of the previous year. If you want to study for longer than three months, you will need to apply for a student visa.
It is an offence for an education provider to allow a person to undertake a course of study if that person is not entitled to do so. Your course of study and education provider must be approved by the Ministry of Education to offer places to overseas students. Your education provider must also be a signatory to the Ministry of Education’s Code of Practice for the Pastoral Care of International Students (the Code) to be able to offer you a place. You can find out from the education provider whether they and their courses are approved. Visitors aged 13 and under who wish to study a course of up to three months at a Private Training Establishment (PTE), must also meet the guardianship requirements set out in the Code.
A visitor visa does not allow you to work in New Zealand.
There are some special visitor categories which allow visitors to enter New Zealand for particular purposes – ‘Special visitor categories’.
Visa-waiver visitors:
If you are the holder of a current Australian permanent residence visa or a current Australian resident return visa, you do not need a visa to travel to New Zealand. You must apply for a resident visa on arrival. You will do this by completing an arrival card on the aircraft/ship on your way to New Zealand. Some other groups of visitors from overseas do not need a visa to travel to New Zealand:
- British citizens/British passport holders intending to visit for six months or less
- People travelling on a United Nations laissezpasser intending to visit New Zealand for three months or less
- People from a country on our list of visa-waiver countries (see below) intending to visit New Zealand for three months or less
Visa-waiver countries
Andorra
Argentina
Austria
Bahrain
Belgium
Brazil
Brunei
Bulgaria
Canada
Chile
Croatia
Cyprus
Czech Republic
Denmark
Estonia
Finland
France
Germany
Greece
Hong Kong
Hungary
Iceland
Ireland
Israel
Italy
Japan
Korea (South)
Kuwait
Latvia
Liechtenstein
Lithuania
Luxembourg
Macau
Malaysia
Malta
Mauritius
Mexico
Monaco
Netherlands
Norway
Oman
Poland
Portugal
Qaar
Romania
San Marino
Saudi Arabia
Seychelles
Singapore
Slovak Republic
Slovenia
Spain
Swededn
Switzerland
Taiwan
United Arab Emirates
United States of America
Uruguay
Vatican City
If you are in one of these groups, you are a ‘visawaiver visitor’, and you do not need a visitor visa to travel to New Zealand. You need to apply for a visitor visa, but you will do this by completing an arrival card on the aircraft/ship on your way to New Zealand.
You must also:
- Hold a valid ticket out of New Zealand to a country you have the right of entry to
- Have enough money to support yourself during your stay
- Hold a passport valid for three months beyond the date you are leaving New Zealand.
The visa you are granted will allow a stay in New Zealand of no more than six months in a 12-month period. The 12-month period is calculated backwards from the last day you intend to be in New Zealand. For example, if you want to stay until 1 December 2017, you should count back 12 months, which would have been 1 December 2016. You must only visit New Zealand for the time granted to you on arrival.
If you wish to visit for longer, you will need to apply for another visitor visa. If you want to work, or study for longer than three months, in New Zealand you will have to apply for a work visa or a student visa.
Multiple entry visas If you are a frequent visitor to New Zealand and you want to leave and re-enter the country, you will need to hold a multiple entry visitor visa. Under general visitor instructions most applicants for visitor visas will be granted a multiple entry visa. If you are already in New Zealand and your visa does not allow you to leave and re-enter, then you will need to apply to have the conditions of your visa varied to allow travel. To be eligible you must not have been in New Zealand for more than nine months in the last 18 months. We will want to know the reasons you require a multiple entry visa, and we may ask you to provide evidence.
Under parent and grandparent instructions
You may be granted a multiple entry visa if you have family members in New Zealand and you are outside New Zealand. Under these instructions you may visit your child or grandchild several times over a three-year period. See ‘Special visitor categories’.
Applying for a limited visa
You can apply for a limited visa if you wish to come to New Zealand for a specific reason. Holding a limited visa restricts your immigration rights when you are in New Zealand. If you are granted a limited visa you are liable for deportation immediately when the visa expires, and you have no rights of appeal.
Who can you include in your application?
You can include your partner and your dependent children in your application. Their visitor visas will have the same conditions as yours – if they want to study or work in New Zealand they will have to apply for a student or work visa.
Your partner can be of the same sex or opposite sex, and can be:
- your partner by marriage
- your partner by civil union
- your partner in a de facto relationship.
Dependent children must be:
- Aged 19 or younger
- Single, and if they are aged 18-19, must have no children of their own
- Totally or substantially reliant on you or your partner for financial support, whether they live with you or not.
How much money do you need when you are in New Zealand?
You will need to show at the border that you can support yourself and anyone else included in your application financially while you are in New Zealand.
You will also need to show that you have tickets for your travel out of New Zealand (or the money to buy them).
Will you be eligible for publicly funded health care in New Zealand?
Visitor visa holders are not generally eligible for publicly funded health and disability services. People covered by New Zealand’s reciprocal health agreements with Australia and the United Kingdom are entitled to publicly funded health care for immediately necessary medical treatment only.
If you seek health care when you are in New Zealand, you should carry your passport so that health providers can check whether you are eligible for publicly funded health care. The INZ strongly recommends that you arrange comprehensive health insurance for your stay in New Zealand. For more information about health services, see the Ministry of Health website www.health.govt.nz.
Interim visas If you are currently in New Zealand, hold a valid temporary visa and have an application for a further visitor visa being considered by INZ, you may be eligible for an interim visa. The INZ will make a decision on whether to grant you an interim visa close to the day your current visa expires and will inform you by email or letter. You cannot apply for an interim visa and there are no fees or forms for interim visas. There is no guarantee that you will be granted an interim visa. Interim visas do not have travel conditions and are valid for a maximum of six months or until a decision is reached on your application – whichever is earlier.
If your dependent child is aged under 18, the INZ will probably not ask for evidence that they are dependent on you. If they are aged 18-19, the INZ may ask to see evidence that they are dependent on you/your partner.
How long can you visit for?
Unless otherwise stated under special instructions, visitors to New Zealand are limited to a maximum stay of nine months on a visitor visa. However, the INZ may allow you to stay a further three months if you have financially supported yourself and you have not worked, studied, or been sponsored during your stay. If you have recently visited New Zealand and you wish to visit again, you should be aware that the instructions allow a visitor to stay a total of no more than nine months in an 18-month period. The 18-month period is calculated backwards from the last day you intend to be in New Zealand. For example, if you want to stay until 1 December 2017, you should count back 18 months, which would have been 1 June 2016. However, if you have spent a total of 12 months in New Zealand as a visitor, you will have to remain outside New Zealand for 12 months before a further application for a visitor visa may be approved.