A visitor NZeTA costs NZ$17 in the app plus the NZ$100 visitor levy, and lets US, UK, EU and Canadian travellers leave the airport; a transit NZeTA, with no levy, covers only the transit area. Indian passports need a Visitor Visa (from NZ$441) to leave, or a Transit Visa (from NZ$235) to change planes.
Most travellers need something, even just to change planes. US, UK, EU and Canadian passports need a visitor NZeTA to leave the airport (NZ$17 in the app or NZ$23 online, plus the NZ$100 levy; allow 72 hours), or a transit NZeTA, with no levy, to stay airside. Australian passports need nothing. Indian passports need a Visitor Visa (from NZ$441) to leave, or a Transit Visa (from NZ$235) to change planes.
If you stay airside
Changing between international flights at Auckland Airport (AKL), you can stay in the transit area without passing passport control, but most passports still need a document for it, arranged before you fly.
Immigration New Zealand counts you as a transit passenger if you’re flying on to another country, remain in the transit area or on your plane, and leave in less than 24 hours. You can’t enter New Zealand on a transit document. What you need for the transit area:
- US, UK, EU, Canadian and other visa-waiver passports: a transit NZeTA, NZ$17 in the NZeTA app or NZ$23 on the website, with no visitor levy.
- Some other passports need only a transit NZeTA too, among them China, Indonesia, the Philippines, Thailand, Fiji, Samoa and Tonga. Immigration New Zealand’s transit visa-waiver list has the full set.
- Every other passport, India’s included: a Transit Visa, from NZ$235. Most are decided within 3 days.
- Flying to or from Australia, any passport can use a transit NZeTA if you hold a current Australian visa. Australian passports need nothing; Australian permanent residents need an NZeTA.
When you land, follow the signs to the International Transfer point on the arrivals level, where you go through security screening again. Duty-free liquids bought at your last airport, alcohol and perfume included, can be taken from you there if they break the liquids rules, so leave big bottles for Auckland’s own shops.
You can’t collect checked bags in transit. Ask your airline to send them through to your final destination when you check in for Auckland; if it can’t, go to the International Transit Desk when you land.
The transit area has no rooms, and it runs only from 4am to 11pm, plus 2am to 2:30am: if you land late in the evening or your connection runs through the small hours, ask your airline before you fly where you’ll wait. To spend a night in a hotel, or to leave the transit area for any reason, you need permission to enter New Zealand: a visitor NZeTA or a Visitor Visa, as below. An onward domestic flight also means entering New Zealand in Auckland.
If you want to leave the airport
To see Auckland, you need permission to enter New Zealand, arranged before you board your flight there.
| Passport | What you need |
|---|---|
| United States | Visitor NZeTA, plus the NZ$100 levy |
| United Kingdom | Visitor NZeTA, plus the NZ$100 levy |
| EU and Schengen | Visitor NZeTA, plus the NZ$100 levy |
| Canada | Visitor NZeTA, plus the NZ$100 levy |
| Australia | Nothing; Australian permanent residents need an NZeTA |
| India | Visitor Visa, from NZ$441 |
Every EU country is on New Zealand’s visa-waiver list, with Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland. A few entries carry conditions: Greek passports must be issued on or after 1 January 2006, the Estonian, Latvian and Lithuanian entries cover citizens only, and Portuguese passport holders need the right to live permanently in Portugal.
The visitor NZeTA
- Cost: NZ$17 in the NZeTA app or NZ$23 on the website, plus the NZ$100 International Visitor Levy: NZ$117 or NZ$123 in all. Apply only through Immigration New Zealand’s own app or site.
- How long it lasts: 2 years, for visits of up to 3 months each (6 months for UK citizens).
- How long it takes: most requests are decided within 72 hours, so apply at least 3 days before you fly. Your airline checks it before you board.
- Your passport: travel on the passport you applied with.
The transit NZeTA
The same application and fee, NZ$17 or NZ$23, with no levy, but it only covers the transit area for under 24 hours. If there’s any chance you’ll want to go into town, apply for the visitor NZeTA instead: it covers changing planes too.
The Visitor Visa
For passports not on the visa-waiver list, India’s included. It costs from NZ$441: enter your passport on Immigration New Zealand’s Visitor Visa page to see the exact fee. Most are decided within 2 weeks, so apply well before your trip. A Transit Visa (from NZ$235) won’t let you leave the airport.
Passport validity
Your passport must be valid for at least 3 months after the date you plan to leave New Zealand.
If you’re on separate tickets
On two separate bookings, your airline can’t send your bags through, so you collect them in Auckland, pass the border and check in again for your next flight. That means entering New Zealand, so you need a visitor NZeTA or a Visitor Visa, not a transit one, even if you never leave the terminal. Allow time to check in: Air New Zealand closes check-in 90 or 120 minutes before departure, depending on the flight.
At the border
- Passport control. eGates take travellers aged 12 and over with an ePassport from the listed countries; the signs show whether yours qualifies. Everyone else uses a staffed desk.
- Biosecurity. After the baggage hall, officers check your New Zealand Traveller Declaration, which everyone entering fills in, free, online from 24 hours before your flight. Declare all food, plants, wooden items and used outdoor gear, or drop them in the amnesty bins. Not declaring costs an NZ$400 on-the-spot fine.
- Time. Auckland Airport publishes no queue times. It’s often quicker, but plan on about an hour from landing to the bus or train.
Before you go landside
- Bags. On one booking your checked bags stay airside and go on to your next flight. Carry only what you need in town.
- Boarding pass. Have your onward boarding pass before you leave. Without one you check in again on your return, so check your airline’s check-in close time.
- Be back at the airport 90 minutes before departure.
Buses, trains and the last ride back: getting into the city.