New Zealand Traveller Declaration Official Site: Is NZTD Free? (2026)
NZTD is free and required for everyone entering New Zealand. NZeTA is a separate requirement with a government fee.
Verified
Run by New Zealand Customs Service. Last verified July 14, 2026.
· Archived snapshot
Quick answer
The New Zealand Traveller Declaration is free. Every person entering New Zealand must complete one, including a New Zealand citizen, baby, or child.
New Zealand Customs does not charge to start, complete, or submit an NZTD. A website asking for USD $39 to file the declaration is selling assistance with a government form that costs nothing.
What the NZTD is
The NZTD records passport, journey, contact, immigration-status, customs, cash, and biosecurity information before border processing. Submit it before passport control if arriving by air, or by the time the vessel berths at its first New Zealand port.
The declaration is linked to the passport used in the form. Keep the reference number sent by email. You do not need to print it.
Who must complete it
Each arriving person files a separate NZTD. That includes:
- visitors and visa holders;
- New Zealand citizens and residents;
- Australian citizens and permanent residents;
- babies and children.
The narrow exception in the official guidance is an airside transit passenger who remains inside Auckland Airport’s transit area and does not enter New Zealand.
The 24-hour submission window
You may start entering information earlier, but the final submission window opens later:
- Air: from 24 hours before starting the journey to New Zealand.
- Sea: from 24 hours before the vessel leaves its last foreign port.
The 24-hour rule limits submission, not when you may begin filling the form. If an answer changes after submission, update the declaration and resubmit it before passport control or border processing.
NZeTA is a different requirement
NZTD is an arrival declaration. NZeTA is an electronic travel authority operated by Immigration New Zealand. Completing one does not complete the other.
An NZeTA is generally required for:
- visa-waiver passport holders travelling by air;
- cruise or cargo ship passengers;
- Australian permanent residents;
- some transit travellers.
An Australian citizen travelling on an Australian passport does not need an NZeTA. A visa-required passport holder should check the correct New Zealand visa instead of assuming an NZeTA is enough.
Verified
Run by Immigration New Zealand. Last verified July 14, 2026.
· Archived snapshot
NZeTA cost and validity
The official NZeTA fee is NZD $17 in the official app or NZD $23 on the official website. Most visitors also pay the NZD $100 International Visitor Conservation and Tourism Levy with the request. Exemptions apply, including for Australian permanent residents.
A traveller NZeTA is valid for 2 years and can cover multiple eligible journeys. Allow up to 72 hours before booking travel for processing.
Why commercial prices reach USD $99 to $170
Middlemen often combine a free NZTD with an NZeTA application, document review, or rush label. Prices recorded on July 14, 2026 included USD $99.99, $135, and $170 packages. Another service listed a USD $69 service fee separately from its stated government fee and IVL. Those service charges do not change the official NZTD price: FREE.
One documented site, newzealandvisaonline.com, offered NZTD support for USD $39 while acknowledging that the official declaration is free. Any site charging specifically for NZTD deserves a separate check before you enter passport or card details.
Before you paste anything into the official site
Type your details below. We never send them anywhere. This runs 100% in your browser. View source to verify.
Use the date your flight or vessel reaches New Zealand, not the date it leaves the first country. This local checker uses YYYY-MM-DD.
Choose air or sea. The official form opens flight fields for air travel and vessel or port fields for sea travel.
Declare food, animal or plant products, soil or water, equipment used with animals or plants, used outdoor gear, and recent wilderness, animal, or farm contact. When unsure, declare it.
Use the country of birth requested by the NZTD. Answers in the declaration must be in English.
Match the passport date. This local checker uses YYYY-MM-DD; use the official form's date controls when submitting.
Confirm only after checking that every answer is true, correct, and complete. Changes made later must be resubmitted before passport control.
Use an inbox you control. NZTD sends the reference number and submission information by email.
Use the English or Latin spelling shown in the passport you will use to enter New Zealand.
Air travellers should enter the flight arriving in New Zealand. Sea travellers use the vessel and port fields instead. This checker accepts common airline-code and flight-number formats.
Enter every given name from the passport used to enter New Zealand. Do not drop a middle given name.
Choose the official option that matches your passport, New Zealand visa or residence status, Australian passport or permanent residence, or visitor-visa-on-arrival situation.
Select the nationality shown on the passport you will use to enter New Zealand.
If you will stay at several places, enter the first New Zealand address. Use English.
Match the expiry date on the passport used to enter New Zealand. This local checker uses YYYY-MM-DD; use the official form's date controls when submitting.
Copy the number from the passport you will use to enter New Zealand. This checker uses a broad alphanumeric range because NZTD publishes no universal web length limit.
Include the country or region code for a number where you can be reached.
Answer every question about medicines, restricted goods, alcohol, tobacco, goods over the allowance, business goods, items carried for another person, and NZD $10,000 or more in cash or equivalent.
List every country outside New Zealand visited during the previous 30 days, including airport transit.
✓ 100% browser-side. No network calls. No tracking. View source on GitHub to audit.
✓ Rules last verified 2026-07-14.
✓ Rules last verified 2026-07-14.
Useful travel services, clearly disclosed
If you still need coverage for the trip, these links support entrycardguide without changing the price you pay.
Affiliate disclosure: if you buy through one of these links, we may earn a commission. We never accept money from visa middlemen, form-filing services, or companies that compete with the official government forms we point to.