At the moment, New Zealand passport holders who wish to travel to Europe may visit and circulate within all Schengen Area countries without being required to apply for a European visa. NZ citizens are allowed entry for short-term stays in all Member States by just showing their valid passport to immigration authorities upon their arrival. This is due to the fact that the island country is part of the European Visa-Exempt Program.

However, by the end of 2022, citizens of New Zealand who want to travel to Europe will be required to apply online for an ETIAS visa waiver. ETIAS (European Travel Information and Authorisation System) will be introduced in an effort to increase security and strengthen border control in the Schengen zone in order to protect the safety of Europeans and visitors alike.

ETIAS Required ETIAS permits New Zealanders to travel to all 26 Schengen member states from late 2022 onwards: Austria

Belgium

Luxembourg

Netherlands

Germany

France

Spain

Portugal

Sweden

Finland

Denmark

Lithuania

Latvia

Estonia

Poland

Slovakia

Hungary

Slovenia

Italy

Greece

Czech Republic

Malta EU Schengen

Non-EU Schengen States

Non-Schengen EU States ETIAS Required Non-EU Member States: Iceland

Liechtenstein

Norway

Switzerland Micro-States de facto part of Schengen Area: Monaco

San Marino

Vatican City ETIAS Non-Required Non-Schengen EU States United Kingdom

Republic of Ireland

Romania

Bulgaria

Croatia

Cyprus

Europe Visa Waiver Requirements for New Zealand citizens

Up until late 2022, citizens travelling to Europe from New Zealand for stays of up to 90 days do not need a visa. Presenting the NZ passport at any Schengen Member State border will suffice in order to be granted entry into the European Union for tourism and leisure purposes.

However, this will change by the end of 2022, when ETIAS is expected to have been fully implemented. From that year onwards, an EU visa waiver for New Zealander nationals will become a mandatory requirement for all NZ citizens visiting Europe. Therefore, all travellers from the island country visiting any Schengen Area country or state will not only have to show their valid passport at the border, but they will also be required to have an approved ETIAS visa waiver associated with their passport in order to enter Europe.

From late 2022 onwards, New Zealand citizens travelling to Europe will have to register online prior to their departure in order to obtain the travel authorisation required for visiting the Schengen Area.

The ETIAS visa waiver for New Zealanders will be available through an easy-to-use online application system. The requirements for an ETIAS visa-waiver application are simple and straightforward:

A valid New Zealand passport that is machine-readable, with at least 3 months remaining beyond the intended date of departure

that is machine-readable, with at least 3 months remaining beyond the intended date of departure A debit or credit card to pay the ETIAS fee

A current email address, needed to receive the approved ETIAS visa waiver

These are the basic ETIAS requirements for New Zealand citizens who wish to visit any of the Schengen Member States. The Schengen Area is comprised of 26 European countries that agreed to form one entity for the purposes of integrating passport and border control.

The Schengen Zone includes EU member countries, such as Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, and Sweden. It also includes 4 countries that are not EU members: Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland, plus the microstates of Monaco, San Marino, and Vatican City.

The new ETIAS electronic travel authorisation will grant New Zealanders entry into any and all of the countries mentioned above, as well as the freedom to travel between them. The European visa waiver allows travellers to spend up to 90 days within any 180-day period within the territory. It is a multiple-entry travel document, which means that as long as a citizen does not go beyond the allotted 90 days within a 180-day period, they are allowed to enter and exit all Member States as many times as they deem fit.

New Zealand passport holders are advised to take into account that the United Kingdom and Ireland are not part of the Schengen Area. Since these countries have chosen not to take part in ETIAS, visiting both nations will not require a European visa waiver travel authorisation.

What's more, other EU countries such as Romania, Bulgaria, Croatia and Cyprus are expected to eventually join the Schengen Area, and therefore, NZ visitors intending to travel to either of these will likely require an ETIAS as well.

Please make sure to visit this website regularly for updates regarding ETIAS and how it will affect New Zealanders travelling to European countries. Other information, such as required documents for New Zealanders requesting an ETIAS, and countries to which citizens will be granted entry when travelling with this electronic travel authorisation, shall also be updated as soon as possible.

When travelling in Europe, New Zealanders should make sure to apply for an ETIAS travel authorisation at least 72 hours prior to their intended date of departure in order to allow sufficient processing and screening time.

EU Visa Waiver for New Zealand Citizens Application

The ETIAS visa waiver will be a legal requirement for New Zealanders entering the Schengen zone, as of 2022. The visa waiver can be obtained online by accessing the ETIAS application form using an individual’s smartphone, tablet or desktop computer and completing the easy-to-follow online process.

New Zealanders applying for an ETIAS will need to provide some basic personal information such as the following:

Full name

Date and place of birth

Street address

Contact phone number

Accurate passport details such as country of issuance, issuance date, expiration date and passport number

Citizens of NZ completing the online ETIAS application will also be asked to disclose some of the following details:

Criminal records

Employment history

Drug use

Ties with human trafficking

Prior travel to conflict areas or history of deportation from any EU Member States

Past European travel information

The application process for ETIAS is simple and straightforward and the form should take NZ citizens no more than 10 minutes to complete.

Applicants are advised to carefully review all the information prior to submitting their European visa waiver application in order to make sure that there are no typing errors or inconsistencies in their data. This is to ensure that their ETIAS request can be processed smoothly since any mistakes may delay the process.

The last step of the ETIAS travel authorisation application process is payment, which is made using a credit or debit card. Once the application is submitted, it will be cross-checked against European border security and criminal databases.

The information submitted within the ETIAS application system allows European immigration authorities to pre-screen all citizens intending to visit the Schengen Zone. This step serves the purpose of confirming their status before granting them entry or allowing them to board a flight that lands on Schengen soil. ETIAS checks are also performed with the intention to identify any potential threats and improve security measures for the safety of residents and visitors alike.

All of the data provided on the Europe visa waiver application is checked against multiple security databases managed by the European Union Agency for the Operational Management of Large-Scale IT Systems in the Area of Freedom, Security and Justice, otherwise known as eu-LISA.

Some of the security databases used for screening include:

VIS , a database that compiles visa information

, a database that compiles visa information SIS , a shared European database used to identify individuals that are suspected to have a criminal background, as well as missing people, and stolen assets

, a shared European database used to identify individuals that are suspected to have a criminal background, as well as missing people, and stolen assets EURODAC, a database that compiles fingerprint info

All of the security measures and processes that comprise ETIAS are being put in place with the objective of identifying citizens that enter the Schengen Area illegally or commit identity theft and other types of fraud.

Therefore, if an NZ citizen’s application raises any red flags during its automated screening against security databases, the individual’s form will have to undergo manual processing by staff of the ETIAS.

In the event that manual assessment by the European Coast or Border Guard is required for an ETIAS application, this will inevitably result in longer processing and delivery time.

An ETIAS visa waiver for NZ passport holders is likely to be denied if the citizen has been involved in serious criminal activity.

New Zealand’s bilateral agreements with European countries

The New Zealand government has successfully negotiated individual visa waiver arrangements, known as bilateral agreements, with several countries in Europe. This means that citizens of New Zealand can visit these countries for more than the 90-day visa-free permission already in place.

All types of passports meeting the validity requirements and issued by New Zealand can be used to visit the below nations as an extended stay:

Belgium (2 months)

Denmark (3 months)

Germany (3 months)

Italy (3 months)

Luxembourg (90 days)

Netherlands (90 days)

Iceland (3 months)

Liechtenstein (90 days)

Norway (90 days)

Switzerland (90 days)

New Zealanders holding an ordinary passport can enter the following countries for the stated additional period:

Greece 90 days

Spain (90 days)

France (90 days)

Austria (3 months)

Portugal (90 days)

Finland (90 days)

Sweden (3 months)

It is also possible for New Zealand visitors in possession of a diplomatic, service, or official passport to enter Austria for up to 3 months beyond the 90-day visa-free period allowed in the UE.

A bilateral agreement is a deal signed with an individual government. This means that under one agreement, New Zealanders can only travel visa-free to the country the agreement applies to and must remain there for the total length of application of this reciprocal arrangement. Those interested in visiting more than one Schengen Member State visa-free within one trip should apply for an ETIAS visa waiver for Europe.

Note: Bilateral agreements between NZ and EU Member States might vary depending on new legislation set in place.