Immigration New Zealand (INZ) says it is encouraged by the number of travellers who have requested their NZeTA (New Zealand Electronic Travel Authority) ahead of it becoming mandatory from 1 October 2019.

More than 100,000 travellers have requested an NZeTA via the web form or mobile app since the system went live a month ago.

“Since the system went live, we have received thousands of NZeTA requests every day, with over 99 per cent of those processed automatically,” INZ Policy Director Nick Aldous says.

“However, INZ remains concerned that there are still people intending to travel to New Zealand from 1 October who have not yet requested their NZeTA, particularly from some Asian countries such as Japan and South Korea, and we encourage these travellers to go online and apply now to ensure they are able to board their flight, rather than waiting until the last minute.

“With the summer holiday season just around the corner, it is also timely to remind New Zealanders who have friends and family from visa waiver countries coming to visit that anyone who previously travelled to New Zealand visa waiver will not be able to travel to New Zealand from 1 October unless they have an NZeTA.”

INZ has launched a global marketing communications campaign to help educate travellers about the changes made at the border to enhance New Zealand’s security.

“While the campaign has been successful so far, we want to ensure that all travellers receive the correct information and request their NZeTA through the official channels to avoid any travel disruption,” Mr Aldous says.

The NZeTA will be mandatory for visitors from visa waiver countries from 1 October 2019 and costs NZ$9 via the mobile app and NZ$12 through the website. At the same time that a visitor requests their NZeTA, they will be charged the new NZD$35 International Visitor Conservation and Tourism Levy (IVL).

New Zealand and Australian citizens and visitors who already have a valid New Zealand visa will not be required to have an NZeTA.