New Zealand

Direction: everyone travelling into New Zealand must complete a New Zealand Traveller Declaration (NZTD), including New Zealand citizens and residents; it is free to submit. Complete a digital declaration at www.TravellerDeclaration.govt.nz or via the NZTD app (App Store / Google Play); a paper declaration form is available on arrival if needed, and is not required if you have completed a digital declaration. The online form is available in 14 additional languages but questions must be answered in English; translated examples of the paper form are reference only and cannot be printed and presented to Customs or MPI staff. Air travellers transiting New Zealand who stay in the airport transit area do not need a declaration; travellers arriving unexpectedly due to emergencies (medical evacuation, rescue at sea, temporary weather diversion) may not need one. Starting a declaration triggers an emailed reference number used to review, complete or change it; any change requires resubmission; nothing needs to be printed. The NZTD app may be unavailable in some international regions and, for maritime travellers, is limited to cruise-ship arrivals; those unable to use the app can still complete the online form. INFORMATION REQUIRED: details of the passport you will use to enter New Zealand; contact details in New Zealand (first address if staying in multiple locations); travel history from the last 30 days; flight or voyage details; what you are bringing into New Zealand including checked-in luggage and carry-on bags; immigration status including your visa or NZeTA if you need one. Each traveller, including babies and children, needs an individual declaration; caregivers may complete it on behalf of children, and the app can copy travel details between declarations for the same journey. SUBMISSION TIMING: air — earliest 24 hours before you start your trip to New Zealand; with a stopover where you leave the airport with your bags, 24 hours before the flight leaving the stopover; on multiple flights without a stopover, 24 hours before the first leg. Sea — earliest 24 hours before departing the vessel's last foreign port. Declarations can be changed up until you reach passport control or are processed by a border officer, and no longer after; anything forgotten must be raised with a border officer. WHAT TO DECLARE (select 'Yes' in your NZTD): medicine — over three months' supply, or medicine not prescribed to you; restricted or prohibited goods — e.g. weapons, indecent publications, endangered plants or wildlife, illegal or controlled drugs; alcohol — more than three bottles of spirits (not exceeding 1.125 litres each) and 4.5 litres of wine or beer; tobacco — more than 50 cigarettes, or 50 grams of tobacco products (including a mixture of cigarettes and other tobacco products); goods obtained overseas and/or purchased duty-free in New Zealand with a total value of more than NZ$700 (including gifts); goods carried for business or commercial use; goods carried on behalf of another person; cash — NZ$10,000 or more (or foreign equivalent), including travellers cheques, bank drafts and money orders. ALLOWANCE CONTEXT: the alcohol, tobacco and NZ$700 limits are personal traveller concessions, with no separate application — you must be 17 or older to claim the alcohol and tobacco concessions (18 to buy them in New Zealand), families and groups cannot pool their NZ$700 goods allowances, and duty and GST are payable on the excess above any limit. Items meeting biosecurity requirements do not need declaring: clothing, footwear, jewellery and toiletries intended solely for your own use ('personal effects'); have purchase receipts available. PENALTIES: a NZ$400 instant fine (the minimum) for failing to declare restricted or prohibited items or making a false or incorrect declaration; false declarations can also lead to confiscation of goods, prosecution, imprisonment and deportation from New Zealand. On arrival you must answer all NZTD questions and produce your identity documents; it is an offence not to. After clearing passport control and collecting baggage, follow the appropriate lanes through biosecurity screening.