New Zealand Visitor Visa Cost: The $441 Broken Down
A New Zealand Visitor Visa costs from NZ$441. That total is three separate charges: a $300 application fee, a $41 immigration levy and a $100 International Visitor Levy. INZ publishes only the combined figure. The components behave differently — two are charged per application, one is charged per person, and some travellers are exempt from one but not the others.
Quick Facts
| Published price | "From NZD $441" (INZ Visitor Visa page) |
| Application fee | $300 — Band A (in New Zealand) and Band C (rest of world, offshore) |
| Application fee, Band B | $120 — specified Pacific citizens applying from outside New Zealand |
| Immigration levy | $41 — charged once per application |
| IVL | $100 — charged per person included in the application |
| Charged per application | Application fee, immigration levy |
| Charged per person | IVL |
| Refundable if declined | No. The IVL is never refunded, even where a fee is |
| Last general increase | 1 October 2024. No general fee or levy increase in 2025 or 2026 |
| Source | Fees Guide INZ 1028, May 2026 edition |
Why the breakdown matters
INZ's own Visitor Visa page shows a single number. The Fees Guide behind it shows three, and they do not behave the same way:
| Charge | What it pays for | How it is charged | Waivable? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Application fee $300 | The cost of deciding the application | Per application | Yes — bilateral fee-waiver agreements cover it for some nationalities |
| Immigration levy $41 | Migrant settlement programmes, immigration research, system infrastructure, and the Immigration Advisers Authority | Per application | Yes, in the same waiver cases and for a short list of humanitarian categories |
| IVL $100 | Conservation, tourism infrastructure and tourism initiatives. Policy owner is MBIE, not INZ | Per person | Only through the IVL exemption list — never through a fee waiver |
Three practical consequences fall straight out of that table.
A family costs far less than four times $441. A partner and dependent children aged 19 or under, unmarried and dependent, can be included on one Visitor Visa application. The $300 fee and the $41 levy are paid once for the whole application. Only the IVL repeats per person. Two adults and two children on one application therefore pay $300 + $41 + (4 × $100) = $741, not $1,764.
Some people pay the fee but not the IVL. IVL exemptions include Australian and New Zealand passport holders, citizens of a list of Pacific nations, transit passengers at Auckland International Airport, New Zealand resident visa holders, Australian Resident Visa holders, Business Visitor Visa holders and APEC Business Travel Card holders. Those travellers still pay the application fee and the levy where they apply.
Some people pay the IVL but not the fee. New Zealand has bilateral fee-waiver agreements with a number of countries. Those waivers expressly do not cover the IVL.
The three fee bands
Every New Zealand visa fee has three prices, and the band is decided by where you are and which passport you use — not by which visa you want.
| Band | Who pays it | Visitor Visa fee |
|---|---|---|
| Band A | Applicants who are in New Zealand when they apply | $300 |
| Band B | Applicants outside New Zealand who are citizens of specified Pacific countries | $120 |
| Band C | Applicants outside New Zealand, rest of the world | $300 |
The Band B countries for fee purposes are Australia, American Samoa, Fiji, Kiribati, the Marshall Islands, the Federated States of Micronesia, Nauru, Palau, Papua New Guinea, the Pitcairn Islands, Samoa, the Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu and Vanuatu, plus citizens of the Cook Islands and Niue not travelling on a New Zealand passport.
Two rules catch people out. Dual citizens pay the band that applies to the passport used in the application. And for citizens of French Polynesia, Guam, New Caledonia and Norfolk Island, the band differs for some application types — INZ directs those applicants to its fee finder rather than publishing a rule.
Because Band A and Band C are both $300, applying from inside New Zealand costs the same application fee as applying from most of the world. What changes when you apply onshore is the IVL question, which INZ resolves through its fee finder rather than a published rule. See offshore vs onshore applications.
What Pacific applicants pay
Band B is the cheapest visitor visa fee in the system, and it is currently cheaper still.
| Component | Amount |
|---|---|
| Application fee (Band B) | $120 |
| Immigration levy | $41 |
| Fee and levy | $161 |
| IVL, where payable | $100 |
| Total where the IVL applies | $261 |
A temporary fee reduction for Pacific visitor visas took effect on 1 June 2026, cutting the total from $216 to $161. It runs for 12 months — so it is due to expire around 31 May 2027 — and it applies to offshore applicants only. It excludes Parent Boost and Group Visitor Visas.
The $161 concession figure lines up exactly with the Band B application fee plus the immigration levy in the May 2026 Fees Guide. That reconciliation is ours, not a statement by INZ, and it holds only where the applicant is also exempt from the IVL. Sixteen Pacific nations are on the IVL exemption list, but the IVL exemption list and the Band B fee list are separate documents and are not identical. Check both against your own passport on INZ's fee finder.
Bilateral fee waivers: who pays no application fee
New Zealand has fee-waiver agreements with a group of countries. For an offshore visitor visa, citizens of the following pay no application fee and no immigration levy:
Austria · Finland · Greece · Iceland · Israel · Italy · Japan · Mexico · Philippines · Turkey · United States of America
Two limits apply to every one of them:
- The waiver never covers the IVL. A US citizen applying for an offshore Visitor Visa still pays $100 if the IVL applies to them.
- The waiver never covers the fee to transfer or replace a visa label in a new passport.
The scope varies by country. Finland and Iceland have the broadest agreements, covering any type of visa, endorsement or variation of travel conditions, onshore and offshore. Japan's covers any offshore visa type. Mexico and the USA cover offshore visitor, work and student visas. The Philippines agreement is narrower again — offshore visitor and student visas for visits of 59 days or fewer.
Most citizens of these countries are also on the visa-waiver list and will never apply for a Visitor Visa at all. The waiver matters mainly to the minority who need one — usually because they want to stay longer than the visa-waiver limit.
How the Visitor Visa compares on price
| Visa | Total from | Components |
|---|---|---|
| NZeTA via the mobile app | $117 | $17 + $100 IVL |
| NZeTA via the website | $123 | $23 + $100 IVL |
| Group Visitor Visa | $271 per person | $86 + $85 levy + $100 IVL — the levy is per person here, uniquely |
| Visitor Visa | $441 | $300 + $41 + $100 |
| Business Visitor Visa | $341 | $300 + $41, IVL-exempt |
| Transit Visa | $235 | $235, no levy, no IVL |
| Parent and Grandparent Visitor Visa | $441 | $300 + $41 + $100 |
| Parent Boost Visitor Visa | $3,100 | $1,940 + $1,060 levy + $100 IVL |
The NZeTA is materially cheaper on the app than on the website — a $6 difference for the identical product. See NZeTA cost: app vs website.
What you do not pay for
There is no priority processing service, at any price. New Zealand does not sell a faster decision, and no fee in INZ 1028 corresponds to one. Any website offering to expedite a New Zealand visa in exchange for money is selling something that does not exist. See paid priority visa processing in New Zealand.
You do not pay a third-party service fee to INZ. Applications are made directly at immigration.govt.nz. Commercial sites that charge a "service fee" on top of the government charge are reselling a free process — see NZeTA scam websites and resellers.
A Visa Application Centre may charge its own service fee for biometrics or document handling in some countries. That is the centre's charge, separate from INZ's, and it is not part of the $441.
Related fees visitors sometimes meet
These sit in the Fees Guide but almost never on INZ's own web pages, which is why they are so rarely published correctly anywhere. All are from INZ 1028 (May 2026 edition), verified 20 August 2026.
| Charge | Band A (in NZ) | Band B (Pacific) | Band C (rest of world) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Variation of conditions on a temporary entry class visa | $325 | $240 | $325 |
| Variation of travel conditions on a visitor visa | Covered by some bilateral waiver agreements | — | — |
| Transferring a visa label to a new passport | $225 | $170 | $225 |
| Confirmation of immigration status | $225 | $170 | $225 |
| Reconsideration of a decision to decline a temporary visa | $220 | — | — |
| Special direction | $260 | $255 | $260 |
| Temporary entry class visa granted under section 61 | $640 | — | — |
| Call-out fee, where an INZ office is opened outside normal hours | $375 | $365 | $375 |
Two points worth knowing. Bilateral fee waivers do not cover the label transfer fee — it is expressly excluded, even for the countries whose citizens pay nothing for the visa itself. And a section 61 request costs nothing to make: INZ states you pay only after it decides in principle to grant a visa, at which point the $640 becomes payable for a temporary entry class visa. The widespread claim that section 61 is simply "free" is not accurate.
Refunds
INZ does not refund the fee or the levies once an application has been processed, even if it is declined. Refunds are available in a narrow set of circumstances: you paid a fee you did not need to pay, you paid the wrong fee, your application was not accepted and was returned to you, or your application had not been processed.
The IVL is never refunded. Not on decline, not on withdrawal. This is the single most common surprise in New Zealand visa pricing and it is the strongest reason to check your fee band and IVL status before you submit. See NZ visa fee refunds explained.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does a New Zealand visitor visa cost?
From NZ$441 for one person as at August 2026: a $300 application fee, a $41 immigration levy and a $100 IVL. Applicants who are citizens of specified Pacific countries and applying from outside New Zealand pay a $120 application fee instead of $300.
Is the $441 per person or per application?
Both, in part. The $300 fee and the $41 levy are charged once per application, however many people are included. The $100 IVL is charged for each person. One applicant pays $441; four people on one application pay $741.
What is the immigration levy and how much is it?
NZ$41 on a Visitor Visa. It funds migrant settlement programmes, immigration research, system infrastructure and the Immigration Advisers Authority. It is charged per application, not per person — except on group visitor visas, the only category where it repeats per person.
Do I have to pay the IVL?
Most visitors do. Exemptions include Australian and New Zealand passport holders, citizens of a list of Pacific nations, transit passengers at Auckland, New Zealand resident visa holders, Australian Resident Visa holders, Business Visitor Visa holders and APEC Business Travel Card holders. The full picture is in the International Visitor Levy explained.
Has the New Zealand visitor visa fee gone up in 2026?
There has been no general fee or levy increase in 2025 or 2026. The last general increase was on 1 October 2024, when the IVL also rose. A large amount of content online still quotes the older, lower IVL figure — that figure is dead.
Why is the fee different from outside New Zealand?
It usually is not. Band A (in New Zealand) and Band C (rest of the world) are both $300 for a Visitor Visa. Only Band B, for specified Pacific citizens applying offshore, is lower at $120.
Do I get my money back if my visitor visa is declined?
No. INZ does not refund the fee or levies once an application has been processed, including a declined one. The IVL is not refunded in any circumstance.
How do I pay the New Zealand visitor visa fee?
Through Immigration Online at the point of submission, where the fee, levy and IVL are bundled into a single payment. See how to pay NZ visa fees.
Primary source: Immigration New Zealand, Fees Guide INZ 1028 (May 2026 edition) and the Visitor Visa page. All figures verified 20 August 2026. INZ's fee finder is the only authoritative source for your own fee band and IVL status — check it before you pay, because fees paid in error are refunded only in limited circumstances.
This page is general information about published fees. It is not immigration advice and does not assess your circumstances.
