All New Zealand Visa Types: The Complete List of 168 Visas
Immigration New Zealand offers 168 visa products, grouped into visitor (40), work (39), working holiday and work exchange schemes (45), residence (33), student (9) and two others. That count comes from INZ's own visa lookup data, extracted on 20 August 2026. New Zealand does not use numbered subclasses — every product has a name.
Quick Facts
| Total visa products | 168, as at 20 August 2026 |
| Top-level groups | Visitor, student, work, residence, plus working holiday schemes and two "other" products |
| Numbering system | None. New Zealand names its visas; it has no subclass numbers |
| Cheapest product | NZeTA — NZD $17 through the app, $23 through the website, plus the $100 IVL where payable |
| Most expensive | Active Investor Plus — NZD $12,070 fee plus a NZD $15,400 immigration levy = $27,470 |
| Two legal classes | Temporary entry class and residence class. Everything else sits inside one of those two |
| Where the count comes from | The JSON visa list embedded in every page of immigration.govt.nz |
How many visas does New Zealand have?
168. Immigration New Zealand does not publish that number anywhere, which is why almost nobody quotes it.
Every page on immigration.govt.nz carries a "Visa lookup" dropdown. The full option list for that dropdown sits in the page source as JSON — INZ's own canonical enumeration of every product it offers, with the official name and URL for each one. Parsed on 20 August 2026, it returned 170 entries: 168 visa products plus two how-to pages (How to get a temporary visa decision reviewed and How to get a visa sticker for a passport).
| Group | Products |
|---|---|
| Visitor — including the NZeTA, Transit Visa and APEC card | 40 |
| Student | 9 |
| Work — excluding working holiday schemes | 39 |
| Residence | 33 |
| Working Holiday and Work Exchange schemes | 45 |
| Other — Interim Visa and Limited Visa | 2 |
| Total | 168 |
Treat this as a dated fact, not a permanent one. INZ adds products (the Peak Seasonal Visa and Global Workforce Seasonal Visa both opened in December 2025) and retires them (the Entrepreneur Work Visa closed to new applications on 27 August 2025). The number will move. Ours was extracted on 20 August 2026 and is re-checked at each review.
New Zealand has no visa subclass numbers
If you have read about a "subclass" number, you were reading about Australia. Australia numbers its visas — a tourist visa is one number, a skilled visa another. New Zealand does not. Immigration New Zealand identifies each product by name only: Accredited Employer Work Visa, Straight to Residence Visa, Parent Boost Visitor Visa.
This matters more than it sounds. People searching for a number cannot find the New Zealand equivalent, then conclude the visa does not exist. It usually does — it just has a name instead.
Two working consequences:
- When you search INZ's site, search the name, not a number.
- When a third-party site quotes a New Zealand visa by number, that site is confusing the two countries, and you should treat everything else on the page with the same suspicion.
The two legal classes underneath the groups
The four groups above are how INZ organises its website. Underneath them, New Zealand immigration law recognises only two classes of visa:
| Class | What it is | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| Temporary entry class | A visa to be in New Zealand for a limited time and a stated purpose | Visitor Visa, NZeTA, all student visas, the AEWV, all 45 working holiday schemes, Limited Visa, Interim Visa |
| Residence class | A visa to live in New Zealand indefinitely | All 33 residence products, including the Permanent Resident Visa |
The split is not academic. It decides the fee you pay, the levy attached, whether you can ask for a reconsideration or must appeal to a tribunal, and what happens if you are declined. A visa granted under section 61 of the Immigration Act 2009 costs NZD $640 if it is temporary entry class and NZD $1,510 if it is residence class — INZ's own fee schedule shows the divide plainly.
Temporary versus resident visas sets out that distinction in full, and it is the single most useful thing to understand before you go any further.
Visitor visas — 40 products
The largest single group, and the one most people meet first. It contains the two products with the highest volume in the whole system, the NZeTA and the Visitor Visa, plus a long tail of narrow products for specific situations.
The mainstream ones: Visitor Visa · Visa Waiver Visitor Visa · New Zealand Electronic Travel Authority (NZeTA) · Transit Visa · Group Visitor Visa · Business Visitor Visa.
Family visits: Parent and Grandparent Visitor Visa · Parent Boost Visitor Visa · Partner of a New Zealander Visitor Visa · Child of a New Zealander Visitor Visa · Partner of a Student · Child of a Student · Partner of a Worker · Child of a Worker · Guardian Visitor Visa · Culturally Arranged Marriage Visitor Visa.
Narrow and specialist: Academic Visitor · Adoption Visitor · Adoption Pre-citizenship Visitor · Antarctic Traveller · Arts and Music Festival · Crew joining a Ship or Plane · Dismissed Worker · Escort of Medical Patients · German Law Student · Medical Treatment · Occupational Registration · Private Yacht or Plane · Refugee Claimant · Short-term Entertainment Act · Sports Events · Super Yachts · Temporary Retirement · Tour Escort · Trafficking Child Victim · Visiting Media · Partner of Military · Child of Military · Pitcairn Islander · APEC Business Travel Card to visit New Zealand · APEC ABTC and Virtual ABTC for New Zealanders.
One correction worth making here, because it does real harm: the Parent Boost Visitor Visa is a visitor visa. INZ states plainly that it does not give a pathway to a resident visa. It is expensive — from NZD $3,100 — and it is still temporary.
The complete group, with what each product is actually for, is at every New Zealand visitor visa.
Work visas — 39 products
This count excludes the 45 working holiday and work exchange schemes, which INZ groups separately.
The centre of gravity is the Accredited Employer Work Visa (AEWV), New Zealand's main employer-sponsored work visa, from NZD $1,540 ($480 fee + $1,060 immigration levy). Around it sit the Specific Purpose Work Visa, the Post Study Work Visa, partner and family work visas, six seasonal and primary-industry products, nine bilateral country-specific visas, and a set of protective visas for people in bad situations — including the Migrant Exploitation Protection Work Visa and the Victims of Family Violence Work Visa.
Two products in the group are closed but still visible. The Essential Skills Work Visa closed on 4 July 2022 and was replaced by the AEWV; its page stays live for reference. The Entrepreneur Work Visa closed to new applications on 27 August 2025, replaced by the Business Investor Work Visa.
One correction that matters more than any other on this site: the AEWV has not required payment of the median wage since 10 March 2025. That requirement was removed. Employers must now pay the market rate for the role, and at least the minimum wage. A very large amount of published content still describes the old rule. See the AEWV wage requirement that was removed.
The full enumeration is at every New Zealand work visa.
Working holiday and work exchange schemes — 45
Forty-five separate schemes, each negotiated with one country or territory, each with its own age range, cap, duration and funds requirement. They are counted separately from the 39 work visas because they behave differently: no job offer, no employer, no sponsorship — just nationality and age.
Facts people get wrong here, constantly:
- None of them is a ballot. All 45 are first-come, first-served, opening at 10:00 New Zealand time on a published date. New Zealand's only genuine immigration ballots are the Pacific Access Category, the Samoan Quota and the Parent Category.
- The United Kingdom scheme is capped, at 15,000 places a year, with a wider age range (18–35) and 12, 23 or 36-month options.
- There is no scheme for India. Nor for Pakistan, Nepal, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Indonesia, or any African country. No amount of searching will produce one, because none exists.
Thirty-two of the 45 are capped; 13 are uncapped and open all year. The standard fee is NZD $770 ($215 + $455 immigration levy + $100 IVL). See working holiday schemes by country.
Residence visas — 33 products
Residence class is where the system gets serious, and where the fees jump: a Skilled Migrant Category resident visa costs NZD $6,450 ($2,880 fee + $3,570 immigration levy).
The group covers skilled and work-based residence (Skilled Migrant Category, Straight to Residence, Work to Residence, Care Workforce and Transport work-to-residence routes, the Talent categories), family residence (Partner of a New Zealander, Dependent Child, Parent Resident Visa, Parent Retirement, Intercountry Adoption), investor and business residence (Active Investor Plus, Business Investor, Entrepreneur, the legacy Investor 1 and Investor 2 categories, and the Global Impact Permanent Residence Visa), Pacific and humanitarian categories, and the status products — the Permanent Resident Visa, the Second or Subsequent Resident Visa, the Australian Resident Visa and the legacy 2021 Resident Visa.
Note carefully: a Resident Visa and a Permanent Resident Visa are two different products, and New Zealand grants them in that order. This is the most misunderstood thing in the entire system and it has a page of its own: Resident Visa vs Permanent Resident Visa.
The Skilled Migrant Category is being restructured from 24 August 2026, with two new pathways sitting alongside the existing points system. The full post-change points table is published and set out at Skilled Migrant Category points, explained. The complete list is at every New Zealand resident visa.
Student visas — 9 products
The smallest group: Fee Paying Student Visa · Pathway Student Visa · English Language Student Visa · Exchange Student Visa · Foreign Government Supported Student Visa · NZ Government Scholarship Student Visa · Dependent Child Student Visa · Vocational Trainee Student Visa · Trafficking Child Victim Student Visa.
Two taxonomy quirks catch people out. The Guardian Visitor Visa, for a parent accompanying a young student, sits in the visitor group. The Post Study Work Visa sits in the work group. Neither appears among the nine student products. See every New Zealand student visa.
The two "other" products
Two products sit outside all four groups, and both have consequences out of proportion to their obscurity.
- Interim Visa — granted automatically when your current visa is about to expire while INZ is still deciding a new application made in New Zealand. You do not apply for it and there is no fee. Its conditions depend on the visa you held and the visa you applied for.
- Limited Visa — granted for one express purpose and, uniquely, cannot be varied to another visa type while you are in New Zealand. The Recognised Seasonal Employer Limited Visa is the highest-volume example. See limited visas explained.
Step 1: Work out whether you need a visa at all
Sixty countries and territories have a visa waiver with New Zealand. Their citizens do not apply for a visitor visa — they request an NZeTA and are granted a Visa Waiver Visitor Visa on arrival. Australian citizens travelling on an Australian passport need neither. Australian permanent residents who are not Australian citizens do need an NZeTA.
Step 2: Identify your purpose
INZ's four groups map to four purposes: visiting, studying, working, and living permanently. Almost every product sits under exactly one. Where a purpose could fit two groups — a parent visiting for years, a student's partner who wants to work — the answer is usually a named product built for that exact situation, which is why the visitor group has 40 entries.
Step 3: Check the duration and conditions before the price
Duration is what most people get wrong. A visa's validity and your permitted stay are different numbers: an NZeTA is valid for two years but allows only three months per visit and no more than six months in any 12. Conditions are the second trap: an AEWV is tied to a named employer, role and location; a Post Study Work Visa for a degree-level graduate is not tied to anything.
Work rights by visa type and visa conditions explained cover both.
Step 4: Check whether it leads anywhere
Some temporary visas feed a residence pathway and some are dead ends by design. INZ says so on each product page, but never in one place. Which visas lead to residence collects the answers.
What this list does not include
Closed and legacy products still generate a lot of searching. The Essential Skills Work Visa, the Entrepreneur Work Visa, Investor 1 and Investor 2, and the one-off 2021 Resident Visa all still appear in search results and in old advice. Closed and legacy New Zealand visas says plainly what closed, when, and what replaced it.
How we counted, and how to check us
The method is repeatable and you can run it yourself:
- Open any page on immigration.govt.nz.
- View the page source and find the JSON block feeding the "Visa lookup" dropdown.
- Count the entries, then subtract the two how-to pages.
We publish the method because a number nobody can audit is not worth much. If INZ's list changes, the count changes, and this page carries the date it was last extracted.
A note on what we can and cannot tell you
This page describes what the published rules say. It does not assess your situation, and nothing here is advice about which visa to apply for. New Zealand regulates immigration advice under the Immigration Advisers Licensing Act 2007, and tailored advice from an unlicensed person carries penalties of up to $100,000 and seven years' imprisonment — whether or not the person charged for it. Publishing general information is expressly exempt, and that is what this is.
If your situation is complicated, use a licensed immigration adviser or a New Zealand lawyer. You can check any adviser's licence on the Immigration Advisers Authority register at https://app.mbieregisters.govt.nz/iaa/ui/start/searchForAnOccupationalRegistration.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many types of visa are there in New Zealand?
168 visa products, as at 20 August 2026: 40 visitor, 39 work, 45 working holiday and work exchange schemes, 33 residence, 9 student, and 2 others (the Interim Visa and Limited Visa). The count comes from the visa list embedded in INZ's own website.
What are the main visa categories in New Zealand?
INZ organises its visas into four groups — visitor, student, work and residence — plus working holiday schemes and two products that fit nowhere else. Underneath, New Zealand law recognises just two classes: temporary entry class and residence class.
Does New Zealand use visa subclass numbers?
No. New Zealand has no numbered subclasses. Every product has a name instead. Subclass numbers are the Australian system, and a page that quotes one for New Zealand is describing the wrong country.
What visa do I need for New Zealand?
It depends on your nationality, your purpose and how long you intend to stay. Citizens of 60 visa-waiver countries and territories need only an NZeTA for a short visit. Everyone else needs a visa. Which New Zealand visa do you need works through the forks in order.
Which New Zealand visa is the cheapest?
The NZeTA, at NZD $17 through the mobile app or $23 through the website, plus the NZD $100 International Visitor Conservation and Tourism Levy where it applies. A transit NZeTA carries no IVL, so it is $17 or $23 in total.
Which New Zealand visa leads to permanent residence?
None directly. New Zealand grants a Resident Visa first; the Permanent Resident Visa is a separate later application, normally available after two years of meeting commitment requirements. Several temporary visas — the AEWV, the Post Study Work Visa, Green List work-to-residence routes — feed the resident visa stage.
Have New Zealand visa fees gone up in 2025 or 2026?
There has been no general fee or levy increase in 2025 or 2026. The last across-the-board increase took effect on 1 October 2024, when the IVL also rose to NZD $100. The current fee schedule is the May 2026 edition of Fees Guide INZ 1028.
