Visa-Free Entry Suspension - Questions And Answers
Visa-Free Entry For Tuvalu, Kiribati And Nauru Nationals Suspended – Questions And Answers
What is the purpose of
these changes?
There are two main reasons for requiring
visitors from Tuvalu, Kiribati and Nauru to obtain a visa
before travelling to New Zealand:
- It will provide a consistent visa policy for all Pacific countries;
- It will reduce New Zealand’s exposure to the adverse impacts of immigration, such as overstaying.
Unfortunately, the overstayer to visitor ratios put Tuvalu and Kiribati among the top five overstayer groups, on a percentage basis.
When does the new rule apply?
From 12.00am on
Monday 8 December 2003.
What kind of impact will these
changes have on visitors from the three countries?
Like
nationals of most of the other Pacific Islands, travellers
who want to visit New Zealand will need first to apply for a
visitor’s visa. Applications will need to be made to the
NZIS Suva office. Travellers who arrive without a visitor’s
visa may not be allowed to enter New Zealand. They would be
referred to the NZ Immigration Service on arrival. However,
there will be transitional arrangements in place to ensure
genuine travellers who are scheduled to visit New Zealand
and who do not have time to apply for a visa, are able to
travel.
What will happen to people who are booked to
travel to New Zealand at the time of the change, or who are
scheduled to travel soon, and do not have a visitor’s visa
or time to apply for one?
People in this position should
first check with their airlines or travel agents. Airlines
can seek prior approval from the NZ Immigration Service for
a person to travel when they do not have a visa. NZIS will
facilitate travel for people who had made travel
arrangements before the visa requirement was introduced.
Unless the NZIS has good reason to believe they pose an
unacceptable risk, they will be allowed to travel.
Won’t
it unduly inconvenience visitors from these countries to
have to apply for visitor’s visas in Suva?
Many people
from the Pacific already have to apply for visas from NZIS
offices based in other countries. Work and student visas for
people from Tuvalu and Nauru are already processed by the
NZIS office in Suva. The NZIS office in Suva will make
every effort to process visitor visa applications, and
return travel documents as quickly as possible. There are
travellers, for example regular business travellers, who can
take advantage of multi-entry visas which allow them to
travel to New Zealand without applying for a visa every
time.
What happens if someone needs to travel to New
Zealand urgently and does not have time to apply for a
visa?
People needing to travel in the case of an
emergency, such as the sudden illness or death of a close
family member, will have access to the existing provisions
for discretionary individual visa waivers that allow for
emergency travel to New Zealand. People in this situation
should contact their airline for information. They will
need to provide evidence of the nature of their emergency
travel. The airline will contact the NZIS to seek prior
approval for the person to enter New Zealand without a visa.
Will people transiting New Zealand be required to apply
for visas?
Anyone from visa required countries who is
travelling to or from these three countries via New Zealand
will need to apply for a transit visa, unless they hold
another type of valid New Zealand visa, or are travelling to
Australia and hold a valid Australian visa. Nationals from
all visa required countries travelling to these three
countries via New Zealand will also require a transit visa.
Nationals of some Pacific countries, including Tuvalu,
Kiribati and Nauru, are exempt from paying a fee for a
transit visa.
Will it cost residents of the three
countries to obtain a visa to visit New
Zealand?
Nationals of these countries will pay NZ$85 for
a visitor’s visa, the same fee that applies to visitors from
other Pacific Islands countries. As noted, travellers from
Tuvalu, Kiribati and Nauru who will be transiting New
Zealand are exempt from paying the transit visa fee.
Are
there any Pacific Islands countries that do not require a
visa for travel to New Zealand?
People from the Cook
Islands, Tokelau and Niue are New Zealand citizens and
therefore do not require a visa to travel to New Zealand.
People from French Polynesia and New Caledonia are French
citizens and therefore have visa free status with New
Zealand.