New Zealand Visa for Chinese Citizens (2026): What Immigration New Zealand Says

Visiting: visitor visa or NZeTA?

INZ says that if you have a passport from a country or territory on its visa waiver list, you can travel to New Zealand without a visa, but you need to get a New Zealand Electronic Travel Authority (NZeTA) first. The list on that page does not include China. It does include two entries with conditions: Hong Kong, for residents travelling on HKSAR or British National (Overseas) passports only, and Macau, for residents travelling on Macau Special Administrative Region passports.

INZ’s NZeTA guide for citizens of China lists three situations in which a Chinese citizen can use an NZeTA instead of a visa:

• visiting from Australia, as an Australian permanent resident or when travelling directly from Australia with an eligible Australian temporary visa that is valid at flight check-in (only transiting through Australia does not count);
• transiting through Auckland International Airport on the way to another country, without entering New Zealand;
• arriving on a cruise or cargo ship (INZ notes that arriving by air and then boarding a cruise ship requires a visa).

The guide says that if none of these applies, or you want to stay longer than 3 months, you must apply for a visa before travelling. It lists the NZeTA at NZD $17 via the mobile app or NZD $23 via the website, plus the International Visitor Conservation and Tourism Levy (IVL) of NZD $100 per person, paid together with the NZeTA, and says processing can take up to 72 hours.

Immigration New Zealand: Visa waiver countries and territories · Immigration New Zealand: NZeTA application guide for citizens of China

The NZeTA route from Australia

INZ announced the route for Chinese visitors travelling from Australia in November 2025 as a pilot. Its update of October 2026 says eligible Chinese and Pacific visitors can continue to apply for and use an NZeTA to travel to New Zealand from Australia, rather than applying for a Visitor Visa, until further notice, and that the pilot will be evaluated after the initial 12-month period ends. The same page says you cannot work for a New Zealand employer if you have travelled there on an NZeTA and are visiting.

Immigration New Zealand: Visa free travel from Australia to New Zealand for Chinese visitors

Visitor visas for citizens of China

INZ’s visitor visa guide for citizens of China covers applications from Mainland China, Hong Kong or Macau. It shows the Visitor Visa from NZD $441. It says a multiple-entry visa for up to 5 years allows you to visit as a tourist as many times as you want while the visa is valid and to stay for up to a total of 6 months in each 12-month period, and that a single-entry visa lets you enter once and stay for up to 9 months in an 18-month period. It describes the Business Visitor Visa as being for a visit or multiple short-term visits over 5 years.

The guide says that if you are in Mainland China, Hong Kong or Macau when you apply, you must also complete a supplementary form about your background and intentions, and that this also applies to any applicants in your application who are 17 years and older. You may also provide your Hukou household registration book as an additional form of identity. For people travelling together, the guide points to a Group Visitor Visa.

In an announcement published on 15 June 2025, INZ said that most Chinese visitors receive a 5-year multiple entry visitor visa. That is INZ’s description of typical outcomes, not a promise for any single application.

Immigration New Zealand: Application guide for visitor visas for citizens of China · Immigration New Zealand: Changes to welcome visitors from China

China Working Holiday Visa

INZ says this visa is for people who want to holiday, study and work in New Zealand, and that you must be aged 18 to 30 and a citizen of the People’s Republic of China. It says the visa is very popular and fills up quickly every year, and that with only 1000 places not everyone will be successful. When read on 23 October 2026, the page showed the visa as closed.

Among the requirements INZ lists, you must:

• normally live in China and be living there when you apply; to meet the “normally live” requirement, you must not have been outside the country for more than 2 years immediately before applying;
• not have been given a New Zealand working holiday visa before, even if you did not use it;
• hold at least a senior high school qualification (gao zhong xue li) involving at least 3 years of full-time study, verified by the Center for Student Services and Development (CSSD) of China’s Ministry of Education;
• speak and understand English; after you apply, INZ asks for an acceptable English language test result;
• have at least NZD $4,200 to cover your living expenses while in New Zealand;
• have full medical insurance for the length of your stay, and plans to leave at the end of it.

INZ says you can stay for up to 12 months, work in temporary jobs, work for any 1 employer for up to 6 months, and study or train for up to 6 months in total. You cannot take a permanent job on this visa. A partner or child who wants to come must apply for their own visa. You must come to New Zealand within 12 months of the date the visa is issued. If you have completed 3 months of seasonal work in viticulture or horticulture, INZ says you may be able to stay for another 3 months.

The page shows the cost as “From NZD $770” and says it cannot display process or cost information until you provide your country details.

Immigration New Zealand: China Working Holiday Visa

China Skilled Workers Visa

INZ says to apply for this visa if you have a job offer for a role on the China skilled job list, and that you must be a citizen of the People’s Republic of China and meet the listed requirements. When you apply, you must be either living in China or lawfully in New Zealand. The job offer must be for a full-time job in a role INZ treats as “skilled work” for this visa; its list includes, for example, registered nurse, structural engineer, early childhood teacher and plumber. INZ says you must be qualified to do the work you have been offered, and that the evidence you must provide depends on the job you will be doing. For some occupations on the list, including registered nurse, early childhood teacher and plumber, INZ says you must provide a certified copy of your New Zealand registration.

INZ says you can stay for up to 3 years, may work only in the specific occupation, for the employer and in the location on your visa, and can study for up to 3 months in any 12-month period. You cannot include your partner or dependent children in the application, but they can apply for visas based on their relationship to you. You can only apply if places are available; when read, the page said there are places available for all jobs. To apply for another China Skilled Workers visa after one expires, INZ says you must have been outside New Zealand for 3 years.

Immigration New Zealand: China Skilled Workers Visa

What the official pages used here do not cover

The INZ pages read for this revision do not give an opening date for the next China Working Holiday Visa round. They show “from” fees and say the exact cost depends on your country details, so this page gives no exact total. The English test scores INZ accepts for the working holiday visa are on a separate INZ page that was not read for this revision. The pages do not address whether taking New Zealand citizenship affects Chinese nationality; that is a question of Chinese law. They give no living costs, salaries or community sizes, and this page gives none. Silence on these pages is not a rule either way.