VISITOR
Visa for short visits to New Zealand — tourism, family, business meetings, amateur sport, or getting married. Stays up to 6 months (multi-entry) or 9 months (single-entry). No work; limited study up to 3 months in any 12-month period. Cases turn on the bona fide visitor and genuine intentions tests.
The Visitor Visa above is the general-purpose short-stay pathway. Two adjacent visa categories serve specific use cases that don’t fit the standard Visitor Visa:
For organised groups travelling together — typically arranged via a tour operator or sponsoring organisation. The application is submitted as a group package; individual applicants benefit from streamlined processing tied to the group’s itinerary. Useful for organised tours, performance groups, and certain conference cohorts.
Distinct from the Visitor Visa entirely — the Working Holiday Visa is a youth-targeted visa (typically ages 18–30 or 35 depending on country agreement) that permits a combination of travel and incidental work over a defined period (typically 12 months, extendable in some cases).
Working Holiday is NOT a visitor visa — it carries different work rights, eligibility (country-of-citizenship + age), and immigration conditions. If you’re considering a working-holiday-style stay, confirm whether your country has a Working Holiday Scheme with NZ and what the current cap and annual lottery (where applicable) requires.
For pure tourism / family visits / business meetings — Visitor Visa is the right pathway. For organised group travel — Group Visitor Visa streamlines the application. For youth applicants combining travel and work — Working Holiday Visa is a separate, country-specific scheme.
INZ must believe you will leave New Zealand at the end of your stay. The decision-maker weighs your employment, family, property, and other commitments in your home country against any reason you might want to remain in New Zealand. Thin home-country ties combined with NZ family or partner connections will be scrutinised.
Separate from the bona fide test, INZ assesses whether you genuinely intend to visit for the stated purpose, comply with visitor conditions (no work, limited study), and depart on time. Stated purpose must be corroborated by your itinerary, bookings, return ticket, and home-country ties documentation.
NZD $1,000 per month if self-funded, or NZD $400 per month if accommodation is pre-paid. Sponsorship by a New Zealand citizen or resident (INZ 1025 Sponsorship Form) can substitute for personal funds. Funds must be in addition to onward travel costs.
Confirmed onward or return ticket to a country you have the right to enter, or evidence of funds sufficient to purchase one. Money for the ticket is counted separately from money to live on during your stay.
Police certificates required if you are 17 or older and your total time in New Zealand will be 24 months or more. Chest X-ray certificate required for stays of 6 months or longer from non-low-TB countries. Medical certificate required for stays of 12 months or longer or where INZ requests one.
INZ application fee: Standard Visitor Visa starts from NZD $441. The International Visitor Conservation and Tourism Levy (IVL) of NZD $100 may also apply. NZeTA (for visa-waiver country citizens) is significantly cheaper than a visitor visa and faster to process. Confirm current fees at immigration.govt.nz before applying — INZ fees change without notice.
ProVisas advisory fee: ProVisas advisory fee for visitor visas is NZD $2,500 plus GST. Paid via weekly direct debit.
Pacific Island passport holders may qualify for fee reductions and longer-stay (up to 24 months multiple-entry) variants. Australian citizens travelling on an Australian passport require neither a visa nor an NZeTA. Visa-waiver country citizens should consider NZeTA as a cheaper, faster alternative for short visits.
INZ targets 80% of standard visitor visa decisions within 2 weeks. Processing slows during the summer surge (October to February, especially around Christmas) when application volume rises sharply — applicants travelling in peak season should submit at least 6 to 8 weeks ahead. Cases with complications (prior declines, character matters, complex evidence stacks) take longer. An interim visa is issued automatically if you apply onshore for a new visitor visa and your current visa expires while the application is being decided.
Multiple-entry visitor visas allow up to 6 months per visit within a 12-month period. Single-entry visitor visas allow up to 9 months in an 18-month period. The 9 months in 18 months total stay cap applies cumulatively — repeated short visits add up. Pacific Island passport holders have a longer 24-month multiple-entry variant. Check the conditions stamped on your specific visa before booking onward travel.
Employment in New Zealand is not permitted on a visitor visa. Remote work for an overseas employer is generally allowed; NZ-side business activity (meetings, conferences, negotiations) requires a Business Visitor Visa, not a standard visitor visa. Study is allowed up to 3 months in any 12-month period — longer study requires a Student Visa.
NZeTA (Electronic Travel Authority) is for citizens of visa-waiver countries plus cruise passengers and transit travellers. It is not a visa — it works alongside your passport to permit visa-free entry. Visa-waiver citizens get a visitor visa on arrival under specific conditions. For longer stays, repeated visits, or where visa-waiver does not apply, a full visitor visa application with the complete evidence stack is required.
Sometimes. Extensions are not automatic — INZ assesses each application against current policy and your reason for needing more time. Approval results in a single-entry visa that replaces your current one. The 9 months in 18 months cumulative stay cap still applies. Repeated extensions, or extensions where home-country ties have weakened, attract closer scrutiny. Talk to a licensed adviser before applying for an extension if your case has any complicating factors.
These are two separate tests. The bona fide visitor test asks whether you have the ties, means, and intent that would compel you to leave at the end of your visit. The genuine intentions test asks whether you genuinely intend to comply with visitor conditions — visit for the stated purpose, depart on time, no work, no de facto residence. INZ can decline on either ground. A return ticket alone does not satisfy either test; the full evidence stack matters.
guides
A Limited Visa is a special visa for a specific purpose — short-term study, business conference, medical treatment, family emergency. Key restrictions: cannot change visa categories while in NZ, cannot work unless permitted, must leave before expiry.
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Aged 66+ with NZD 750,000 to invest? The Temporary Retirement Visitor Visa allows 2-year stays (renewable). Investment + income + funds thresholds explained. Does NOT lead to permanent residence.
Read articleLast reviewed 2026-05-24. Source of truth: Immigration New Zealand →
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