NZeTA Cost: Why the App Is Cheaper Than the Website
An NZeTA costs NZ$17 through Immigration New Zealand's official mobile app and NZ$23 through its website. Most travellers also pay the NZ$100 International Visitor Levy, so the real total is NZ$117 or NZ$123 per person. One app request covers up to 10 people. Figures as at August 2026.
Quick Facts
| Item | Detail (as at August 2026) |
|---|---|
| NZeTA via the official INZ app | NZ$17 |
| NZeTA via the INZ website | NZ$23 |
| Difference | NZ$6 per person |
| International Visitor Levy (IVL) | NZ$100 per person, on top |
| Total, traveller NZeTA | NZ$117 (app) or NZ$123 (website) |
| Transit NZeTA | NZ$17 app / NZ$23 website, no levy |
| Crew NZeTA | NZ$17 through either channel, no levy |
| People per app request | Up to 10 |
| Processing | Allow 72 hours — identical through both channels |
| Refundable | No, once processed. The levy is never refunded |
The two prices, and the one that actually matters
Almost every page that quotes an NZeTA price quotes the wrong number, because it quotes only the NZeTA and leaves out the levy that is charged on the same screen. Here is the whole bill.
| Line | App | Website |
|---|---|---|
| Traveller NZeTA | NZ$17 | NZ$23 |
| International Visitor Levy | NZ$100 | NZ$100 |
| Total per person | NZ$117 | NZ$123 |
INZ's own visa pages usually show a combined "from NZ$17" and leave the reader to discover the levy at checkout. Publishing the split matters because the two charges behave differently: some travellers are exempt from the levy and not from the NZeTA fee, and the levy is never refunded under any circumstances while the NZeTA fee follows INZ's ordinary refund rules.
Both figures come from INZ's published fee schedule, dated May 2026, and are corroborated by INZ's NZeTA page. There has been no general New Zealand visa fee or levy increase in 2025 or 2026 — the fee schedule still reads "as of 1 October 2024".
Why the app is cheaper
INZ prices the app channel lower than the web form. It has not published a costing that explains the NZ$6 gap, so nobody outside INZ can tell you exactly why. The plain reading is the usual one for government digital services: the app captures the passport chip and the photograph directly on the device, which reduces the handling that a web submission needs.
What can be said with confidence is what the NZ$6 does not buy. The website is not faster. The website does not give you a different or better authority. The two channels produce the same NZeTA, with the same two-year validity, the same three-month-per-visit limit, and the same "allow 72 hours" guidance. You are paying NZ$6 for the convenience of a browser.
The group arithmetic — where the saving becomes real
One request in the app can cover up to 10 people. The levy is still charged per person and cannot be avoided, but the NZeTA fee itself multiplies quickly.
| Travellers | Via the app | Via the website | Saved |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | NZ$117 | NZ$123 | NZ$6 |
| 2 | NZ$234 | NZ$246 | NZ$12 |
| 4 (family) | NZ$468 | NZ$492 | NZ$24 |
| 10 (maximum in one request) | NZ$1,170 | NZ$1,230 | NZ$60 |
Each person in the group needs their own passport details and their own photograph. The request is submitted once; the decisions are made per person, and they do not have to arrive at the same moment.
What each NZeTA type costs
| NZeTA type | App | Website | Levy | Typical total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Traveller — tourists, most visitors | NZ$17 | NZ$23 | NZ$100 | NZ$117 / NZ$123 |
| Transit — changing planes at Auckland | NZ$17 | NZ$23 | None | NZ$17 / NZ$23 |
| Crew — airline, cruise and cargo crew | NZ$17 | NZ$17 | None | NZ$17 |
The transit line is worth reading twice. A traveller passing through Auckland International Airport and staying inside the transit area pays no levy, so a transit NZeTA is roughly one-seventh the cost of a traveller NZeTA. The rules that decide which one applies to you are on transiting through New Zealand, and the levy exemptions in full are on the International Visitor Levy page.
Who pays less than NZ$117
Not everyone pays the levy. If any of the following applies, the bill is the NZeTA fee alone:
- Australian passport holders — who in most cases need no NZeTA at all. See Australians and the NZeTA.
- Citizens of 16 named Pacific nations.
- Transit passengers at Auckland International Airport.
- New Zealand resident visa holders and Australian Resident Visa holders.
- Business Visitor Visa holders and APEC Business Travel Card holders.
Each of these is a published exemption, not a discount you apply for. The levy simply is not charged.
What INZ charges is not what resellers charge
The government price is NZ$117 to NZ$123, or roughly US$70 to US$74. Prices observed on commercial NZeTA sites on 20 August 2026 ran from about US$88 to US$199 for the same authority, and at least one operator overstated the government portion of the fee by around three times.
Those sites are not INZ. They cannot grant an NZeTA, they cannot influence the queue, and several of them present themselves in a way that a hurried traveller reads as official. Because their pricing moves, we date it and re-check it rather than treating it as fixed. The identification guide — what the official channels are and what the copycats look like — is on NZeTA scam sites and resellers.
Step 1: Download the official app, not a lookalike
The official app is published by the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE), INZ's parent agency, and is listed simply as the NZeTA app. Several unrelated commercial apps and websites use similar names and similar icons. If an app or a site is asking for more than NZ$23 plus the levy, it is not the government channel.
Step 2: Request it, and pay both charges together
The app takes your passport, a photograph and a short set of declarations. The NZeTA fee and the levy are charged together at the end. You can add up to nine more travellers to the same request before paying.
Step 3: Allow 72 hours either way
The channel makes no difference to speed. INZ's published guidance is to allow 72 hours from either the app or the website, and no channel, agent or fee moves an NZeTA up the queue. What "pending" means while you wait is covered on NZeTA processing time and pending status.
Why INZ's own page says "from NZ$17"
INZ's public NZeTA page shows "From NZD $17" and nothing else. That is the app price, and the word doing the work is "from".
The reason the fuller picture is hard to find is structural rather than deliberate. INZ's fee figures are loaded into its pages by JavaScript, and INZ's own robots.txt blocks the components that hold them. A search engine or an AI assistant reading the page frequently sees no price at all. The figures that end up in search results therefore come from commercial sites, which have every incentive to quote a number that makes their own charge look reasonable.
The authoritative source is INZ's published Fees Guide, INZ 1028, dated May 2026. It lists each NZeTA type and channel separately, which is where the NZ$23 website figure comes from.
What the price does not vary with
The NZeTA fee is flat. It does not change with:
- Your nationality. All 60 visa-waiver countries and territories pay the same.
- How long you intend to stay. A four-day trip and a three-month trip cost the same.
- How many times you enter. The authority covers multiple entries for two years on one payment.
- How soon you are travelling. There is no urgency loading, because there is no urgency tier.
- Your age. Children are charged the same fee and, unless separately exempt, the same levy.
What does change the total is the levy — and that turns on exemptions, not on anything you choose.
Paying, and what to check on the screen
Both channels take a payment card. The charge is in New Zealand dollars, so your bank will apply its own conversion rate and may add a foreign-transaction fee — a real cost, but one charged by your bank rather than by INZ.
Before confirming, check that the total matches: NZ$117 or NZ$123 for a single traveller paying the levy, or NZ$17 or NZ$23 if you are levy-exempt. A total that is materially different means either an exemption has not been applied or you are not on an INZ page at all.
What the NZ$117 does not include
The NZeTA fee and the levy cover the travel authority and the levy. They do not cover:
- A Visitor Visa. If your passport is not on the visa-waiver list, an NZeTA is not available to you and the applicable product is a Visitor Visa, from NZ$441 — see visitor visa cost.
- The New Zealand Traveller Declaration, which is free and separate.
- Any re-request if your passport is replaced. The NZeTA is tied to the passport it was granted against.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does an NZeTA cost?
NZ$17 in the official INZ mobile app or NZ$23 on the INZ website, plus the NZ$100 International Visitor Levy for most travellers — a total of NZ$117 or NZ$123 per person, as at August 2026.
Does an NZeTA cost money?
Yes. It is not free, and it has not been free at any point. The lowest possible government charge for a normal tourist is NZ$117 through the app.
Why is the NZeTA cheaper on the app?
INZ prices the app channel NZ$6 lower than the web form. INZ has not published the reasoning. The authority produced is identical, and the app is not slower.
Can I pay for a faster NZeTA?
No. There is no express, premium or expedited NZeTA at any price, from INZ or from anyone else. Any site selling speed tiers is selling its own handling, not a shorter INZ queue — see can you fast-track a New Zealand visa.
How many people can I include in one NZeTA request?
Up to 10 in a single app request. Each person needs their own passport details and photograph, and each person is charged the levy separately unless exempt.
Is the NZeTA fee refunded if I am refused?
The levy is never refunded, in any circumstance, including refusal. INZ does not refund an application fee or levy once the request has been processed, even where the outcome is a decline.
Do I pay the levy again on my second trip?
No. The levy is charged when the NZeTA is requested, not per entry. Within the two-year life of the NZeTA you can travel repeatedly without paying it again.
Is NZ$23 the correct website price?
That is the figure in INZ's published fee schedule dated May 2026. INZ's public NZeTA page shows only "from NZ$17", which is the app price, so the two figures are consistent rather than contradictory. Confirm the amount on the payment screen before you pay.
This page explains published fees and rules. It is general information, not immigration advice, and it does not assess any individual's circumstances. Prices charged by commercial operators were observed on 20 August 2026 and change without notice.
