The New Zealand Visitor Visa Explained: Cost, Stay Limits and Conditions
A New Zealand Visitor Visa costs from NZ$441 and allows a stay of up to 9 months in an 18-month period. It permits holidays, family visits and short courses. It does not permit work for a New Zealand employer, but since 27 January 2025 it does permit remote work for an overseas employer. It does not lead to residence.
Quick Facts
| Cost | From NZ$441 — $300 application fee + $41 immigration levy + $100 IVL (as at August 2026) |
| Processing | 80% within 2 weeks (INZ published figure, checked 20 August 2026) |
| Maximum stay | Up to 9 months in an 18-month period (single entry) |
| Multiple entry | Up to 6 months in each 12-month period |
| Who it is for | People whose passport is not on the visa-waiver list, and anyone who needs longer than a visa waiver allows |
| Funds required | NZ$1,000 per person per month, or NZ$400 if accommodation is prepaid |
| Work in New Zealand | No |
| Remote work for an overseas employer | Yes — no limit on the amount, for visas applied for on or after 27 January 2025 |
| Study | Up to 3 months in any 12-month period, short courses only |
| Leads to residence | No |
What the Visitor Visa is
The Visitor Visa is New Zealand's general-purpose temporary visa for people who are coming to visit rather than to live, work or study long term. INZ grants it for tourism, seeing family and friends, short business meetings, short courses, and a range of other visiting purposes.
It is a temporary entry class visa. That matters, because temporary and residence visas run under completely different rules. A Visitor Visa gives no path to staying permanently — see temporary vs resident visas for how the two classes differ.
The Visitor Visa also sits at the head of a family of around forty visitor products. Most of them are the same visa with a narrower purpose attached — the Parent and Grandparent Visitor Visa, the Guardian Visitor Visa, the Medical Treatment Visitor Visa and so on. The full set is listed in all New Zealand visitor visas.
Visitor Visa or NZeTA?
Most travellers never apply for a Visitor Visa at all. If your passport is on New Zealand's visa-waiver list — 60 countries and territories as at August 2026 — you request an NZeTA instead, and you are granted a Visa Waiver Visitor Visa when you arrive.
| NZeTA (visa waiver) | Visitor Visa | |
|---|---|---|
| Who | Citizens of the 60 visa-waiver countries and territories | Everyone else, plus waiver nationals who need longer |
| Cost | $17 via the app or $23 via the website, plus $100 IVL | From $441 |
| Applied for | Before travel, online | Before travel, or from inside New Zealand |
| Stay allowed | Less than 3 months per visit — 6 months for UK citizens | Up to 9 months in 18 |
| Rolling cap | 6 months in any 12-month period | 6 months in 12 on a multiple-entry visa |
| Validity | 2 years, multiple entry | Set on the visa |
| Processing | Allow 72 hours | 80% within 2 weeks |
The two regimes are constantly confused, and the confusion is expensive. A full side-by-side sits at NZeTA vs Visitor Visa.
Australian citizens travelling on an Australian passport need neither. Australian permanent residents who are not Australian citizens do need an NZeTA.
What the $441 is actually made of
INZ publishes a single combined figure — "from NZD $441" — and does not break it down on the visa page. The components come from the Fees Guide (INZ 1028, May 2026 edition):
| Component | Amount | Charged |
|---|---|---|
| Application fee | $300 | Per application (Band A in New Zealand, Band C rest of world) |
| Immigration levy | $41 | Per application |
| International Visitor Conservation and Tourism Levy (IVL) | $100 | Per person |
| Total, one person | $441 |
The split matters more than it looks. The application fee and the immigration levy are charged once per application, so a family included on one application pays them once. The IVL is charged per person — and some travellers are exempt from the IVL while still paying the fee, including citizens of a list of Pacific nations, New Zealand resident visa holders and holders of an APEC Business Travel Card.
Citizens of specified Pacific countries applying from outside New Zealand pay a different application fee band. The full picture, including the bilateral fee-waiver countries whose citizens pay no application fee at all for an offshore visitor visa, is in New Zealand Visitor Visa cost.
There has been no general fee or levy increase in 2025 or 2026. Confirm the current amount on INZ's fee finder before you pay, because that is the only figure INZ will honour.
How long you can stay
This is where most readers get tripped up, because two different limits share the same vocabulary.
On a visa waiver (NZeTA): less than 3 months per visit, or 6 months if you are a United Kingdom citizen — the only exception on the entire 60-entry list. Across visits, the cap is 6 months in any rolling 12-month period.
On a granted Visitor Visa: up to 9 months in an 18-month period on a single-entry visa. INZ calculates the 18-month window backwards from your planned departure date, not forwards from arrival. A multiple-entry Visitor Visa works differently again — 6 months in each 12-month period, and it requires you to have been outside New Zealand for at least 9 months in the 18 months before you apply.
The full breakdown, including parent, guardian and transit limits, is in how long you can stay in New Zealand as a visitor.
What you must show
INZ assesses every visitor application against the same core requirements. Nobody but INZ can tell you whether your own evidence satisfies them.
Genuine intention to visit. You must satisfy INZ that you are a genuine visitor who intends to leave. This is the requirement that drives most declines, and it is the one least explained by fee-charging websites. See proving genuine intentions.
Funds. NZ$1,000 per person for each month of your stay, or NZ$400 per person per month if your accommodation is already paid for. A sponsor may instead demonstrate the financial capacity to support you. Details are in how much money you need.
Onward travel. Visitors must provide evidence of onward tickets — or the funds to buy them — on request.
Health. All applicants must meet an acceptable standard of health. A chest x-ray is required for stays longer than 6 months by people from countries with high rates of tuberculosis. See acceptable standard of health explained.
Character. Police certificates are required for applicants aged 17 or over staying 24 months or more, and INZ's 2026 upfront police certificate rule means an application submitted without a required certificate may be declined without further contact. See the upfront police certificate rule.
A valid passport. It must be valid for at least three months beyond the date you intend to leave New Zealand.
Applicants from mainland China must complete form INZ 1027, and applicants from Hong Kong and Macau form INZ 1220 — mandatory for everyone aged 17 and over. See INZ 1027 and INZ 1220 explained.
What you can and cannot do
You cannot work in New Zealand. No job for a New Zealand employer, no casual work, no trading services with New Zealand businesses or people. INZ lists "working when you only hold a visitor visa" as its own worked example of a visa-condition breach that creates deportation liability.
You can work remotely for an overseas employer. From 27 January 2025, every Visitor Visa applied for on or after that date allows remote work for a business based outside New Zealand, and INZ places no limit on the amount of work. This is New Zealand's answer to the digital-nomad question, and it is covered in full at working remotely on a visitor visa.
You can study for up to 3 months in any 12-month period, and only short courses. You cannot use it to complete the first three months of a diploma or degree; that requires a student visa.
You can bring dependent children on the same application if they are 19 or younger, unmarried and dependent. Children who do not meet that test apply separately and pay their own fee and levy.
Conditions can sometimes be varied. INZ runs a dedicated process for checking or changing visitor visa and NZeTA conditions. A variation of conditions on a temporary entry class visa costs NZ$325 for applicants in New Zealand. Every condition is set out in visitor visa conditions explained.
Step 1: Confirm which visa applies to you
Check whether your passport is on the visa-waiver list. If it is, and you are travelling within the waiver stay limits, you need an NZeTA rather than a Visitor Visa. If it is not — or if you need longer than the waiver allows — a Visitor Visa is the product.
Step 2: Gather the evidence the application asks for
Passport, evidence of funds or a sponsor's financial capacity, travel plans and onward tickets, and any health or police documents your circumstances trigger. A "decision-ready" application is one that contains everything INZ needs to decide without asking. See documents you need.
Step 3: Apply online and pay
Most visitor visas are processed through Enhanced Immigration Online, INZ's upgraded application platform. Visitor visa applicants who are citizens of Pacific Islands Forum countries, excluding Australia, must apply online. The fee, the immigration levy and the IVL are bundled into one payment at submission.
Step 4: Wait for the decision
INZ publishes a processing time of 80% within 2 weeks for the Visitor Visa (checked 20 August 2026). That is a percentile from INZ's processing-times tool, not a promise. Applications take longer where documents are missing, where INZ asks for more information, or where third-party checks are needed.
There is no priority processing service, at any price. Anyone offering to speed up a New Zealand visa decision for a payment is not able to do so — see can you speed up a NZ visa application.
After the decision
If the visa is granted, it is issued as an eVisa or a label, and you must still be granted entry permission at the border. A visa is permission to travel and to be considered for entry; the border officer grants entry itself.
If it is declined, the fee and levies are not refunded, and the IVL is never refunded even where a fee is. Options after a decline — reconsideration, a fresh application, or in some cases a Tribunal appeal — are described in visitor visa declined in New Zealand. Which of them is available depends on your own circumstances and the wording of your decision letter, and that is a question for a licensed immigration adviser or a New Zealand lawyer.
The specialist visitor visas
The general Visitor Visa is the default, but for many purposes there is a narrower product with different terms. Getting the right one matters because the stay limits, fees and eligibility tests differ.
| Visa | Stay | Fee from | Distinctive feature |
|---|---|---|---|
| Parent and Grandparent Visitor Visa | 6 months at a time, 18 months in 3 years | $441 | Requires a NZ citizen or resident sponsor who cannot sponsor anyone else. Not granted again within 36 months |
| Parent Boost Visitor Visa | Up to 5 years, second visa to 10 years total | $3,100 | Sponsor income threshold and health insurance with specified minimum cover. Mandatory third-year check requiring temporary departure |
| Guardian Visitor Visa | Same duration as the child's student visa | $441 | You must live with and care for the child. Failure to do so can result in deportation |
| Medical Treatment Visitor Visa | Varies | — | Medical treatment is excluded from the ordinary visa-waiver allowance |
| Business Visitor Visa | Up to 3 months in 1 year | $341 | IVL-exempt. For trade missions, sales, purchasing and business negotiations |
| Group Visitor Visa | Normally up to 1 month | $271 per person | The immigration levy is charged per person here — the only category where it is |
| Transit Visa | Less than 24 hours | $235 | Auckland International Airport only. No levy, no IVL |
Around forty visitor products exist in total, from the Antarctic Traveller Visitor Visa to the Super Yachts Visitor Visa. The full list is at all New Zealand visitor visas.
What the Visitor Visa does not do
- It does not lead to residence. No visitor product does, including Parent Boost.
- It does not permit New Zealand work, however small or informal.
- It does not guarantee entry. Entry permission is a separate decision made at the border.
- It does not stack indefinitely. The 9-months-in-18 cap counts your visitor time regardless of how many separate visas produced it.
Moving from a Visitor Visa to a work or student visa is possible in some circumstances but is a separate application under separate rules — see changing from a visitor visa to another visa.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does a New Zealand Visitor Visa cost?
From NZ$441 for one person: a $300 application fee, a $41 immigration levy and the $100 IVL, as at August 2026. The fee and levy are charged once per application; the IVL is charged per person. Some applicants pay a different application fee band, and some are exempt from the IVL.
How long does a New Zealand Visitor Visa take?
INZ publishes 80% within 2 weeks, checked on 20 August 2026. That figure moves. Check INZ's processing-times tool for the current estimate before you book travel.
Can I work in New Zealand on a visitor visa?
No. You cannot work for a New Zealand employer or exchange services with New Zealand businesses or individuals. You can work remotely for an employer or client based overseas, with no limit on the amount of work, on any visitor visa applied for on or after 27 January 2025.
Can I look for a job in New Zealand on a Visitor Visa?
Attending interviews and meeting employers is not itself New Zealand work. But a Visitor Visa requires a genuine intention to visit, and INZ assesses that intention on the evidence in front of it. Whether a particular travel plan satisfies INZ is a case-by-case judgement no information site can make for you.
Can I study on a visitor visa in NZ?
Up to 3 months in any 12-month period, and short courses only. You cannot use the allowance to start a longer qualification.
Is it hard to get a New Zealand visitor visa?
Outcomes vary enormously by nationality. INZ's own FY2025/26 decision data shows visitor refusal rates ranging from under 1% for some nationalities to 88% for others. Published rates by country are in NZ visa refusal rates by nationality. No rate predicts an individual outcome.
Can I extend my visitor visa in NZ?
You can apply for a further Visitor Visa from inside New Zealand, which places you in the Band A fee band. The 9-months-in-18 cap still applies to the total. See extending a visitor visa in New Zealand.
Does a Visitor Visa lead to residence?
No. It is a temporary entry class visa with no residence pathway attached. Residence pathways are listed in pathways to New Zealand residence.
Do I need travel insurance to visit New Zealand?
INZ does not require travel insurance for a general Visitor Visa. Some other visitor products, including Parent Boost, require health insurance with specified minimum cover. New Zealand's public health system does not cover most visitors.
Primary source: Immigration New Zealand, Visitor Visa, and the Fees Guide INZ 1028 (May 2026 edition). Fees, processing times and rules on this page were verified on 20 August 2026. Confirm every figure on INZ's own site before you apply or pay.
This page is general information about New Zealand's published immigration rules. It is not immigration advice and does not assess your circumstances. If you need advice about your own situation, use a licensed immigration adviser or a New Zealand lawyer.
