Immigration New Zealand (INZ) has decided more than one million visitor visas since New Zealand’s border fully reopened on 31 July 2022 following the COVID-19 pandemic.

INZ’s Visa Director Jock Gilray says this is a significant milestone and shows the volume of work being done by the INZ team.

Of the one million visas decisions made, more than 914,000 were approved and around 114,000 applications were declined. The average time taken to decide a visitor visa application in 2024 is seven working days.

“This milestone highlights the significant effort made by our team and their commitment to delivering timely decisions for our customers,” Jock Gilray says.

“Demand from people wanting to visit New Zealand is strong. Nearly 350,000 visitor visas have been approved already in 2024, with the busiest months of the year yet to come.’

“As we head into our summer processing peak, we typically see a surge in the number of visitor visa applications as people plan to spend holidays like Christmas and New Year with loved ones or enjoy summer in New Zealand and this can impact the time it takes to process an application.

"While we are well prepared to manage the surge, we encourage people to submit their applications as early as possible to give themselves the best possible chance of having their application decided in time for them to plan their trips with confidence,” says Jock Gilray.

“Anyone wanting to spend Christmas in New Zealand should submit their visitor visa application no later than 15 October 2024. Those hoping to ring in the New Year, including the Lunar New Year, in New Zealand should submit their applications by November 15, 2024."

In addition to submitting applications well in advance, INZ strongly encourages travellers to provide complete applications with all necessary documentation as this helps the speed of application processing.

More information is available at www.immigration.govt.nz/visit

© Scoop Media