The New Zealand Transit Visa: Who Needs One and What It Costs
The New Zealand Transit Visa costs NZD $235 with no immigration levy and no visitor levy on top. It covers less than 24 hours in the Auckland International Airport transit area on the way to another country. INZ publishes no list of who needs one — it is what remains after the waiver lists and exemptions are applied.
Quick Facts
| Item | Detail (as at August 2026) |
|---|---|
| Fee | NZD $235 (Band A, in New Zealand) · NZD $195 (Band B, Pacific fee band) · NZD $235 (Band C, rest of world) |
| Immigration levy | None |
| International Visitor Levy | None |
| Processing time | Not published by INZ in a form we could verify — see below |
| Who it is for | Travellers changing planes at Auckland who are not covered by a waiver or exemption |
| Maximum stay | Less than 24 hours, in the transit area |
| Airports | Auckland International Airport only |
| Family | Partner and dependent children aged 19 or younger may be included |
| Leads to residence | No |
Fee figures come from INZ's fee schedule (INZ 1028, May 2026), read on 20 August 2026. There has been no general fee or levy increase across the New Zealand system in 2025 or 2026.
What the Transit Visa is
It is a single-purpose temporary visa. It permits you to pass through Auckland International Airport on your way to a third country, for less than 24 hours, while remaining in the transit area, on your arrival aircraft, or in police custody.
It does not permit entry to New Zealand. It does not permit you to collect baggage, leave the terminal, stay overnight, or connect at any other New Zealand airport. Those all require a visa or an NZeTA that grants entry.
It is one of the 40 visitor-class products in INZ's own visa catalogue, listed alongside the Visitor Visa, the NZeTA and the Group Visitor Visa. The full set is in the list of all New Zealand visitor visas.
INZ publishes no list of who needs one
This is the central fact about the Transit Visa, and it is why guidance on it is so inconsistent across the web.
INZ publishes who does not need a Transit Visa. It does not publish a list of nationalities who do. The Transit Visa is a residual category — it captures every traveller not otherwise covered.
Any site presenting a definitive "countries that need a New Zealand transit visa" list has built that list themselves, whether or not they say so. We would rather say so.
The derived test
The following is our derivation from INZ's published rules. It is not a quotation from an INZ list, because no such list exists. Use it to understand the structure of the rules, then confirm your own position with INZ.
Limb 1 — are you exempt from needing anything?
You need no transit document at all if you are a New Zealand citizen, a New Zealand permanent resident, an Australian passport holder (character requirements still apply), or on INZ's exempt traveller list.
Limb 2 — is your passport on the general visa waiver list?
There are 60 visa waiver countries and territories. If yours is one, you transit on an NZeTA, not a Transit Visa. The visa waiver list is here, with the passport-type qualifiers that narrow it for several territories.
Limb 3 — is your passport on the transit visa waiver list?
There are 26 transit waiver countries and territories. If yours is one, you also transit on an NZeTA. The transit waiver list is here.
If the answer to all three is no, the Transit Visa is what remains.
There is a fourth limb frequently added online — that travelling to or from Australia removes the requirement. We could not verify a blanket Australia exemption for transit on any INZ page as at 20 August 2026, so this site does not state one. What is verified is narrower and is set out in the FAQ below.
Which travel markets this actually affects
Working the derived test through the largest sources of travel to and through New Zealand gives a concrete picture.
| Passport | Transit at Auckland | Why |
|---|---|---|
| India | Transit Visa | Not visa waiver, not transit waiver |
| Vietnam | Transit Visa | Not visa waiver, not transit waiver |
| Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal | Transit Visa | Not visa waiver, not transit waiver |
| South Africa, Nigeria, Kenya, Zimbabwe | Transit Visa | Not visa waiver, not transit waiver |
| Russia | Transit Visa | Not visa waiver, not transit waiver |
| China, Indonesia, Philippines, Thailand | NZeTA | On the transit waiver list |
| Fiji, Samoa, Tonga, Kiribati, Tuvalu, Vanuatu, Solomon Islands, PNG | NZeTA | On the transit waiver list |
| Colombia, Peru, Bolivia, Ecuador, Paraguay, Venezuela, Panama, Costa Rica | NZeTA | On the transit waiver list |
| United Kingdom, United States, Japan, Germany, Singapore, Malaysia | NZeTA | On the visa waiver list |
| Australia (citizens, Australian passport) | Nothing | Trans-Tasman arrangement |
India is the sharpest case. It is one of New Zealand's largest sources of migrants, students and visitors, and it is on neither waiver list — so an Indian passport holder needs a NZD $235 Transit Visa simply to change planes at Auckland.
What it costs, split out
INZ shows a combined "from" figure. Here are the parts, because they behave differently.
| Component | Amount | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Application fee — Band A | NZD $235 | Applying while in New Zealand |
| Application fee — Band B | NZD $195 | The reduced Pacific fee band |
| Application fee — Band C | NZD $235 | Applying from anywhere else |
| Immigration levy | NZD $0 | Most visa types carry one. This does not |
| International Visitor Levy | NZD $0 | Transit passengers at Auckland are exempt |
| Total | $235 / $195 | The fee is the whole cost |
Two things are unusual here. Most New Zealand visa applications carry an immigration levy on top of the fee — NZD $41 on a standard visitor visa, NZD $1,060 on most work visas. The Transit Visa carries none. And transit passengers at Auckland are exempt from the International Visitor Levy, so the usual NZD $100 does not apply either.
That means a Transit Visa is one of the few New Zealand visas where the advertised fee is the actual amount you pay.
The cheaper alternative, if you qualify for it
For travellers on either waiver list, the transit NZeTA does the same job for a fraction of the price.
| Transit Visa | Transit NZeTA | |
|---|---|---|
| Cost | $235 / $195 | $17 (app) or $23 (website) |
| International Visitor Levy | None | None |
| Who can use it | Everyone not otherwise covered | Visa-waiver and transit-waiver nationals |
| Validity | For the specified travel | 2 years, multiple entry |
| Processing | Not published | Allow 72 hours |
The NZeTA is materially cheaper through INZ's mobile app than through its website — NZD $17 against NZD $23 — and the app can request an NZeTA for up to 10 people at once. The app versus website difference is worth a minute of your time.
Be careful about who you buy from. A large number of commercial sites resell the NZeTA at two to three times the official price, and some present themselves as official. Third-party transit ETA listings at US$70 to US$119 have been recorded against a real cost of NZD $17. See NZeTA scam websites and resellers.
Why we do not publish a processing time
A figure of "80% within 4 days" for the Transit Visa is widely republished. We checked INZ's own pages on 20 August 2026 and could not verify it. So it is not on this page.
INZ does publish processing times for several products — 80% of Visitor Visas within 2 weeks, for example, and "allow 72 hours" for the NZeTA. It does not do so for every product, and the Transit Visa is one of the gaps.
Practical consequence: do not book a connection on the assumption that a Transit Visa will be granted in a few days. Check INZ's processing-times page for the current position, apply early, and note that there is no way to buy faster processing of a New Zealand visa at any price. Anyone offering it is not selling something INZ provides — see paid priority visa processing.
Step 1: Confirm your route qualifies as transit
Your connection must be at Auckland International Airport, under 24 hours, with no baggage collection and no exit from the transit area. Any other New Zealand airport is a full entry, because INZ states there is no transit area anywhere else. The Auckland-only rule covers this in detail.
Step 2: Confirm you are not covered by a waiver
Check your passport against the 60-country visa waiver list and the 26-country transit waiver list. If it appears on either, you want an NZeTA, not a Transit Visa, and you will save over NZD $200.
Step 3: Apply online, well before you fly
Transit Visa applications are handled through INZ's online system. Applications are not accepted at the airport and cannot be resolved on arrival. INZ's guide to applying online or on paper explains which products accept which channel.
Step 4: Include family members in the same application
You may include your partner and your dependent children in one Transit Visa application, which means one fee rather than several. Because the Transit Visa carries no IVL, there is no per-person levy either.
For visitor, transit and limited visas, a dependent child must be 19 or younger, unmarried and dependent. A child of 19 or younger who is not dependent must apply separately, as must anyone aged 20 or over. This test is different from the one used for residence applications, which runs to age 24 — see who can be included in one visa application.
"Partner" for fee purposes means a spouse, civil union partner or de facto partner where you have been living together for 12 months or more. Same-sex couples are included.
What the Transit Visa does not cover
It is a narrow product, and the boundaries are absolute rather than discretionary:
- It is not an entry permission. You cannot leave the terminal on it, for any length of time or any reason.
- It does not work at other airports. Auckland International is the only New Zealand airport with a transit area.
- It does not stretch past 24 hours. A connection at or beyond that mark is an entry.
- It does not allow baggage collection. Baggage claim sits past the immigration desks.
- It does not include accommodation. There is nowhere to sleep airside at Auckland.
- It does not waive character requirements. These apply to every traveller, including those who need no document at all.
- It is not a residence pathway, and time spent in transit counts toward nothing.
If any of those boundaries is a problem for your itinerary, the question stops being about transit and becomes a question about entry — a traveller NZeTA with the International Visitor Levy paid if your passport is on the visa waiver list, or a Visitor Visa if it is not.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a New Zealand transit visa?
It is a temporary visa permitting you to pass through Auckland International Airport, in the transit area, for less than 24 hours on the way to another country. It does not permit entry to New Zealand, baggage collection, an overnight stay, or a connection at any other New Zealand airport. It costs NZD $235 for most applicants, with no immigration levy and no International Visitor Levy.
How much does a New Zealand transit visa cost?
NZD $235 under Band A (applying while in New Zealand) and Band C (applying from most of the world), and NZD $195 under Band B, the reduced Pacific fee band. Those figures are current as at August 2026, from INZ's May 2026 fee schedule. Unusually, nothing is added on top — no immigration levy and no NZD $100 visitor levy — so the fee is the full amount payable.
Do I need a transit visa for New Zealand to Australia?
Your destination does not change the test. What matters is your passport and whether your Auckland connection meets the transit definition. One verified concession runs in the other direction: from 3 November 2025, citizens of China and of Pacific Islands Forum countries travelling direct from Australia on an eligible Australian visa can travel to New Zealand on an NZeTA under a 12-month trial. Australian citizens travelling on an Australian passport need neither a visa nor an NZeTA. We could not verify a general "to or from Australia" transit exemption, so we do not publish one.
Who needs a New Zealand transit visa?
INZ does not publish a list. The rules identify who is exempt, and the Transit Visa applies to everyone else — travellers whose passport is on neither the 60-country visa waiver list nor the 26-country transit waiver list, and who are not New Zealand citizens or permanent residents, Australian passport holders, or on the exempt traveller list. India, Vietnam, Pakistan, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, South Africa, Nigeria and Russia are examples of passports on neither list.
How long does a New Zealand transit visa take?
We do not publish a figure, because INZ does not publish one we could verify. The "80% within 4 days" number circulating on third-party sites was not confirmed on any INZ page as at 20 August 2026. Apply as early as you can, and check INZ's processing-times page for the current position. There is no way to pay for faster handling of a New Zealand visa application.
Can I include my family in one transit visa application?
Yes. A partner and dependent children may be included in a single Transit Visa application, so one application fee covers everyone. Dependent children must be 19 or younger, unmarried and dependent. Anyone aged 20 or over applies separately, and so does a child of 19 or younger who is not dependent on you.
Is the transit NZeTA the same as a transit visa?
No. They are different products for different travellers. The transit NZeTA is an electronic travel authority available to citizens of the 60 visa waiver countries and the 26 transit waiver countries. It costs NZD $17 through the INZ app or $23 through the website, is valid for two years and allows multiple entries. The Transit Visa is a visa application, costs NZD $235 or $195, and covers travellers not eligible for the NZeTA.
Can I apply for a transit visa at Auckland Airport?
No. Both the Transit Visa and the NZeTA must be held before you travel, and airlines check for them at the departure airport. There is no counter at Auckland where transit authority can be obtained on arrival. If you arrive without the right document, the practical consequences fall on you and on the carrier that boarded you.
