Visiting New Zealand – Governments all over the world are imposing restrictions to contain COVID-19. Travel between many countries is also banned. The Government of New Zealand has also imposed travel restrictions to cope with the present situation of the pandemic. The pause to travel to New Zealand has put many individuals ill at ease and they are waiting for flights to resume. Here are details on visiting New Zealand once travel opens.
People have their relatives in New Zealand and are impatient to see them. Many businesses do not do well due to travel bans and the business owners just need a green signal to land in New Zealand. Some people with juvenile temperament want to visit just for the fun of visiting. Are you one of those who want to visit New Zealand as soon as visiting is permitted? If that is the case with you, this article gives you details for visiting New Zealand.
‘Travel Bubble’ will be opened first with the restrictions on travel being uplifted.
For those who are not much into news channels, ‘Travel Bubble’ is a quarantine-free passage between Australia and New Zealand. Travelers from Australia to New Zealand had to stay in quarantine for 14 days. ‘Travel Bubble’ brought much convenience and comfort for the people returning to their homeland from both countries.
They no longer had to wait for the result of the test or stay in quarantine for 14 days. It was officially launched on April 19 but unfortunately was only practiced in less than a week. The exasperating pandemic forced a ban on it. As soon as the travel ban is uplifted, ‘Travel Bubble’ will be the first to provide a passage from Australia to New Zealand and vice versa. If you are living in Australia, you can be in New Zealand as soon as travel resumes.
Visa is the first thing you will need to get into New Zealand
Consider your visa options and apply for the one you are interested in. Visiting New Zealand offers many sorts of visas when it comes to migration. You can go for a study visa, business, and investment, tourism, work, or a visa to live permanently in New Zealand. You can also opt to apply for a visa to join your family that resides in New Zealand. Select your visa type and make sure your profile backs up the need of the visa you are applying for.
Maybe you do not need a visa, you most likely only need NZ ETA
Let me put it straight for senior citizens who are not good at abbreviations. ETA stands for electronic travel authorization and NZ is New Zealand here. New Zealand made it compulsory to have ETA NZ before traveling to New Zealand back in 2019 on 1st October.
This innovation of electronic visa saves you from standing in the queue in front of the embassy. It is strongly advised that you apply for the ETA NZ a few days or at least a week before your travel date. Sometimes an application takes more time to process. You can get your ETA to New Zealand from your mobile phone in just a few steps.
Getting an NZ ETA for tourism or transit
You must complete the following steps to get your ETA to New Zealand.
- Complete the online form carefully with your credentials.
- The information and credentials required are related to your passport.
- The immigration service of New Zealand advises you to apply for ETA a few days or a week before the date of your travel.
- It normally takes 72 hours for an application to be processed. You will have your electronic visa in your hands after three days of applying. But sometimes it can take more than 72 hours so you should apply at least one week before your travel date.
The validity of ETA NZ is two years and the same is the case with the fee of an electronic visa. The fee of an electronic Visa is also valid for only two years.
If you wish to apply for ETZ NZ you must have the following things.
- A valid passport
For visiting New Zealand a valid passport is a must-to-have. For your passport to be valid, it must have at least one blank page. You also mention the date on which you are going to leave New Zealand in the online form. Your passport must be valid for at least three more months from that particular date.
- Email address
This one is so obvious. You are applying for an electronic visa and it will be sent via mail. So make sure you provide a correct and valid email address when applying for the visa. It’s necessary to have an email address for all the documentation regarding visiting New Zealand.
- Residence address
The applicant will have to provide a residence address where he is going to stay in New Zealand. This could be a hotel or a house of relatives. Residential address or hotel is booking is mandatory for visiting New Zealand.
- Means of payment and sustenance
You have to make payment at the last step of the application. A valid and wealthy Credit/debit card or a PayPal account will serve the purpose. You will also have to prove that you can financially support yourself in New Zealand. A bank statement of the past six months is required as proof.
Keep in mind these instructions while filling the online form for electronic travel authorization. You will get your visa within three days if everything goes well and you will be going to New Zealand once travel opens.
