Arrival Formalties in New Zealand
Customs, Immigration, Duty Free and getting away from it all . . .
On arriving in New Zealand there are the usual formalities to be observed. Customs, immigration officials, Ministry of Agriculture and Fishing inspectors, drug dogs . . . all the usual suspects. And for very good reason, as you can well understand.
The important is is not to try and beat the system. Trust me, these guys mean business and they are very good at it. You could face steep fines
Coming Here. Who can, and who can't. Visas, passports , etc
Customs: The beady-eyed brigade
Ministry of Agriculture & Fisheries. Prohibited imports.
Passports and Visas.
All visitors need a passport. Whether you can enter visa-free or not depends on where you come from, how long you're staying and what you want to do when you get here.
Let's take the easiest case: The need for a visa will be waived if you just want to come here for a holiday for up to three months (UK = six months) and you are a citizen of any of the following countries:
Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France. Germany, Greece, Iceland, Ireland, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Korea (South), Kiribati, Lichtenstein, Luxembourg, Malaysia, Malta, Monaco, Nauru, Norway, Netherlands, Portugal*, Singapore, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Thailand, Tuvalu, USA**.
*Portuguese passport holders must have the right to live permanently in Portugal.
** Includes US nationals from American Samoa and Swains Island.
In order to qualify for the visa waiver you must:
- hold a valid ticket to a country to which you have a valid right of entry, and have sufficient money to support yourself during your stay (about $NZ1000 per month) and
- hold a passport valid for three months beyond the date you are leaving New Zealand, and
- only wish to visit NZ for the time granted on arrival (if you wish to visit for a longer period you will have to apply for a Visitor's Visa).
You can get the official government information at http://www.immigration.govt.nz/
Student working policy
The following is a summary of the requirements
International students who have graduated from a course that would gain points under Skilled Migrant Category are eligible for a six-month open work permit.
Eligible students are able to apply to work for up to 20 hours a week during term
Anyone undertaking a course of 12 months or more may apply to work full-time over the summer holidays.
Partners of students studying in areas of absolute skill shortage and partners of all postgraduate students may apply for an open work permit valid for the duration of the student’s course of study.
For further information go to www.immigration.govt.nz
The NZ Customs people are as flinty-eyed as any in the world. If you have ideas of smuggling stuff take some advice: In a word, don't. The justice system will solidly back the Customs people and they hand out lengthy sentences - especially for dope and endangered animal smugglers.
You may import goods up to a value of $700 free of tax and duty. Over that amount could cop either or both.
New Zealand is primarily an agricultural nation. A huge part of our overseas income is earned from farming, forestry, fishing and horticulture. One of the main appeals of the place to travellers is its clean, green environment.
One of the reasons we are so successful at primary production is because, being so far away from the rest of this poisoned, polluted, pest-ridden planet, we don't have rank upon rank of nasties to fight. Many of the pests and diseases that make life hell for overseas producers are unknown here.
We are at pains to keep it that way and that will mean a little co-operation from you.
You will, unknowingly, be fumigated as your aeroplane approaches Auckland. Gone are the days when uniformed officers marched up and down the aircraft with spray bombs held high. You will also have to fill out a MAF declaration stating whether you've been on a farm or similar in the previous days.
Do us a favour, mate, and don't lie about it. Nobody is going to prohibit your entry or keelhaul you as a consequence. They'll just want to wash your boots for you.
You'll also be asked to leave behind in special bins any food or products of an animal origin. Again, don't be a bloody idiot and try to slip it through.
Here's what happens if you do: Not long ago some selfish, self-centred ape brought fruit through the border, concealed in some way. That fruit contained fruit fly. As they drove away from the airport and passed near my house they noticed that the fruit had a bug in it so they tossed it out of the car window!!!!. The entire area around Hillsborough where I live was sealed off while they examined every tree and sprayed everything and everybody. That went on for months.
But that's nothing compared to what happened on the other side of Auckland. Somehow a moth - the white-spotted tussock moth - got established in the Eastern Suburbs. This hungry little monster would make moth tucker of our extremely valuable forests and with no predators would spread rapidly. To prevent further spread of the creature, the MAF people used a DC6 aeroplane to spray an area about 10km square every few days. So, just after dawn residents were treated the to drone of low-level bombing runs for weeks on end.
More recently the same thing happened on the other side of the city.
And then there's the cost of these little exercises. Gizzillions of dollars that could have been used in hospitals or schools, down the drain because of stupid, selfish bloody idiots.
So, again, do us a favour, mate. Leave the fruit and other foodstuffs at the gate. Besides, the food you'll buy here is cheap, fresh and wonderfully free of pests and pesticides.
We have a great "real life" tv programme called Border Patrol where smugglers are filmed at the airport and which catches all the clowns that try to beat the system. How would you like to look like the drongo who hung a salami sausage down the inside of his trousers to try to smuggle it in! Didn't he look hilarious when about half a million people tuned in to watch. Especially when he tried to tell the officials he didn't know it was there!!
Trust me, it is not the sort of holiday video you want.
So what will happen on arrival? On the aeroplane you'll be asked to fill out the usual sort of arrival card and a customs and agricultural declaration.
On the ground, into the terminal and first comes the inevitable immigration counter. Quick check of the documentation, quick comparison of you and your passport and, since there is absolutely no resemblance between you and your passport photograph, you're free to pass through.
Then the customs people. We have the usual two lanes - "nothing to declare" and "carrying loot" . . . . well sort of.
Click here or more information on Auckland International Airport.
Don't load yourself down with booze and cigarettes, perfume etc before getting here. Take life easily and lightly. On arrival at the airport, having cleared immigration you enter a dazzling little shopping centre inside the terminal. It's all there and you can pick it up, pop it on the plastic and head off to the Customs counter. Prices are as competitive as anywhere I've seen in the world. Yeah, yeah, you might shave a buck or two on some lines in some places, but there really isn't much in it.
Here's some typical prices:
Cheap cigarettes $39.90 per carton.
Standard cigarettes (eg Pall Mall) $46.90 carton
Premium cigarettes $49.90 carton
Johnny Walker Red $29.90 1 litre bottle.
Chivas Regal 12 year $49.90 1l.
Black rum $22.90 1.125l
Bacardi $24.90.1l
Brandy $19.90 1l
Gin $16.90 to $19.90 1l7.5ml Chanel No 5 parfum $160.00
All prices $NZ
You can get detailed information from Regency Duty Free or DFS Galleria, both of whom can be found airside at the airport.
Other than booze and baccy there isn't a lot of excise duty or tariffs on goods in NZ. Clothes and shoes a bit, maybe, but not enough to worry about.
What you will save by buying on the duty free side of the line is GST (Goods & Service Tax) of 12.5% that is levied on everything in this country.
Getting away from the airport.
No matter where you arrive - Auckland, Wellington, or Christchurch - your options are the same for getting away from the airport and into your accommodation: Taxi, shuttle or airport coach.
For my money, the airport shuttles are the best option unless you're in a hellava hurry, in which case pay triple and take a cab. But otherwise, just make your way outside the terminal building and you'll find a line of shuttle coaches waiting. They are 10 seater mini-busses and they'll take you door-to-door for a fraction the cost of a cab.
Typical airport-to-city costs: Auckland $18, Wellington and Christchurch $13.
If you are staying at a downtown hotel or hostel, the airporter coaches are a slightly slower but similarly slightly cheaper option.
In Auckland a taxi to the city will cost around $40-50 depending on the time of day and therefore the traffic delays. But beware - if the traffic is seriously delayed you can get horrific bills. I heard of one cab that cost $140 because it took two hours to reach the city. May pay to sort that out with the driver first. In Wellington a cab to the city will cost around $40.
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All you need to know about a visit to the place where God set the contrast and colour and man hasn'nt fiddled with the dials.
What, hopefully, you'll get out of this mish-mash of peripatetic ramblings.
Background bumpf on the country.
Visas, customs, immigration, duty free shopping, and getting away from the airport. Bloody important if you don't want to be arrested on arrival.
Moving on . . . by road or rail, by air or by sea.
"nuff said.
What to see, what to do, and why to go there.
Diving, fishing, golf, rafting, sailing, skiing - and more.