Bermuda is on New Zealand's transit visa waiver list. An NZeTA covers transit through Auckland — but the passport category you hold matters, so check it carefully before booking.
Transit only
What the NZeTA covers
2 years
NZeTA validity
24 hours
Maximum layover
Under 72 hrs
Typical decision time
100% online
No embassy visit
Overview
Bermuda appears on New Zealand's transit visa waiver list, which means an NZeTA can carry a Bermudian passport holder through Auckland Airport en route elsewhere but does not by itself permit entry into New Zealand.
The passport category is the crucial detail here, and it is more complicated than for most nationalities. Bermudian passports are British Overseas Territories Citizen documents. Many Bermudians also hold full British citizen passports, and a British citizen passport is on New Zealand's full visa waiver list with the most generous allowance available — six months per visit.
So the practical advice is unusually specific: check which document you hold. If you have a British citizen passport, travel on it and you are treated as a British citizen. If you hold only the Bermudian BOTC document, the transit waiver applies and a visit requires a Visitor Visa.
At a glance
Eligibility
It depends on the passport and the purpose. Travelling on a full British citizen passport places you under the visa waiver, with an NZeTA covering visits of up to six months. Travelling on a Bermudian British Overseas Territories Citizen passport places you under the transit waiver only.
On the transit waiver, an NZeTA covers changing planes at Auckland within 24 hours. Entering New Zealand for any purpose requires a Visitor Visa granted before you fly, which is a full application taking several weeks.
Many Bermudians acquired British citizenship under the British Overseas Territories Act, which means a full British passport is available even where the current document is a BOTC one. If you travel to New Zealand with any regularity, obtaining the British citizen passport is worth doing — it converts a transit-only position into a six-month visitor entitlement.
Stay & validity
On the transit waiver, the concession is narrow: Auckland International Airport only, a maximum of 24 hours, and you remain airside throughout. You cannot clear immigration, collect checked baggage or leave the terminal.
An NZeTA lasts two years from approval whichever category you hold, and is tied to one passport number. If you obtain a British citizen passport after requesting an NZeTA on a Bermudian one, you must request a new NZeTA on the new document.
A layover longer than 24 hours falls outside the transit waiver and requires a Transit Visa or Visitor Visa arranged in advance.
Your passport must be valid for at least three months beyond your departure from New Zealand, and on a transit you need a confirmed onward ticket plus a valid visa for your onward destination where one is required.
Pricing
Live fees for Bermudian passport holders, shown all-in — the government charge, the tourism levy where it applies, and our service fee, with nothing added later.
Your nationality is pre-selected as Bermuda
Requirements
Everything Bermudian passport holders need before starting a request. The first five items apply to every applicant; the rest are specific to your nationality.
Passport bio-data page — a clear colour scan or photo showing your photograph, full name, date of birth, passport number and expiry date
Recent passport-style photograph — full face visible against a plain light background, taken within the last six months, no headwear other than for religious reasons
A valid email address, which is where the approval is sent and which you should keep accessible while travelling
A credit or debit card to pay the NZeTA request fee and the International Visitor Conservation and Tourism Levy together
Your onward or return ticket details — border officers can ask to see evidence that you intend to leave
Simple process
Four steps, entirely online, with our team checking every field before anything reaches Immigration New Zealand.
Enter your passport details exactly as printed, answer the health and character questions, and upload your photo. Most people finish in under ten minutes.
Our team checks your photo dimensions, passport number, name spelling and declarations before anything is submitted to Immigration New Zealand.
Your request goes to Immigration New Zealand together with the International Visitor Conservation and Tourism Levy, and we track it until a decision is issued.
There is no sticker or label — the authorisation is held electronically against your passport number. We explain exactly what to show at check-in.
NZeTA requests are usually approved within minutes, with Immigration New Zealand advising up to 72 hours. A Visitor Visa, if you need one, takes several weeks and requires supporting documents and biometrics provided outside Bermuda.
Before starting either process, establish which passport category you hold and which you will actually travel on. That single check determines whether your trip needs a five-minute online request or a multi-week visa application.
Transit conditions
Transit without a visa is a narrow permission with hard limits. Read these before you book a connection through Auckland — a routing that breaks any one of them needs a different authorisation.
Transit without a visa is available at Auckland International Airport and nowhere else in New Zealand. You cannot transit through Wellington, Christchurch or Queenstown on this basis.
You must depart within 24 hours of arriving. Overnight connections that exceed that window need a Transit Visa or a Visitor Visa instead.
You remain in the international transit area for the whole layover. You cannot clear immigration, collect checked luggage, leave the terminal or spend the night in an off-airport hotel.
You need a confirmed ticket to your next destination and, where that destination requires one, a valid visa for it. Airlines verify both before boarding.
Getting there
Bermuda has no short route to New Zealand. Itineraries run through a US east coast gateway, then Los Angeles or San Francisco, then across the Pacific, or via London and a Gulf hub. Total journey times exceed 30 hours.
Best time to go
For a genuine transit the season is irrelevant. For a visit, New Zealand's summer of December to February gives the best conditions and is peak season.
March to May and September to November are the value windows, with settled weather and fewer visitors.
New Zealand is 16 to 17 hours ahead of Bermuda depending on daylight saving in both, so you cross the date line and arrive two calendar days after departure.
Avoid these
Declines are rare, and almost always technical rather than substantive. These are the problems that come up most often on requests from Bermuda — we check for every one of them before submitting.
The single most important step. A British citizen passport gives you the visa waiver and six months per visit. A Bermudian British Overseas Territories Citizen passport gives you transit rights only. The documents look similar and the difference is decisive.
The authorisation is tied to a specific passport number. If you request it on a Bermudian document and then present a British citizen passport at check-in, the airline finds no matching authorisation.
On the transit waiver an NZeTA does not permit entry. Arriving in Auckland intending to stay on a BOTC document without a Visitor Visa results in refusal and return at your own cost.
Most routings from Bermuda pass through a US gateway, requiring appropriate US authorisation entirely separate from New Zealand's requirements.
Passport number mistyped
By far the most common problem. The authorisation is attached to the number you enter, so a single wrong character produces an NZeTA that does not exist as far as the airline is concerned.
An undeclared conviction
Immigration New Zealand asks about convictions, deportations and previous refusals. Undisclosed history found later is treated far more seriously than the original offence.
A photograph that fails the check
Shadows across the face, glasses, a busy background or a cropped chin all cause the automated check to reject an image, which turns an instant approval into a manual review.
Conditions
These conditions are set by Immigration New Zealand and do not vary by nationality. Two of them — the passport-linking rule and the cruise rule — catch out a lot of otherwise well-planned trips.
Your authorisation is held electronically against the passport number you entered. There is no label in your passport and nothing to print for immigration. If you renew or replace that passport, the NZeTA does not transfer — you must request a new one.
Every person travelling needs their own NZeTA, including newborns and children. A child cannot be added to a parent's request, and each one needs their own valid passport.
An approved NZeTA lasts two years from the date it is issued and can be used for any number of trips in that period, provided your passport remains valid. It cannot be extended — when it expires you simply request a new one.
The International Visitor Conservation and Tourism Levy funds conservation and tourism infrastructure and is charged alongside the NZeTA request. It currently stands at NZD 100 and is payable once per NZeTA, not once per trip.
An NZeTA lets you board. The decision to admit you is made by a border officer at Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch or Queenstown, who can ask about your funds, your accommodation and your intended departure.
Since October 2019 every cruise passenger arriving in New Zealand by sea needs an NZeTA or a visa, regardless of nationality — including passengers whose nationality would otherwise be exempt.
Consular services
New Zealand does not maintain a mission in Bermuda — coverage comes through London and Ottawa. Neither issues NZeTAs, which are handled online. If you need a Visitor Visa because you hold only a BOTC passport, that runs through Immigration New Zealand with biometrics provided outside Bermuda.
FAQs
The questions Bermudian passport holders ask most often about travelling to New Zealand.
It depends entirely on which passport you hold. A full British citizen passport places you under New Zealand's visa waiver with a six-month allowance per visit, needing only an NZeTA. A Bermudian British Overseas Territories Citizen passport gives transit rights only, and a visit requires a Visitor Visa.
Check the nationality field on the photo page. It will say either British Citizen or British Overseas Territories Citizen. Many Bermudians acquired full British citizenship under the British Overseas Territories Act, so a British citizen passport may be available to you even if your current document is a BOTC one.
If you are eligible and travel to New Zealand with any regularity, yes. It converts a transit-only position into a six-month visitor entitlement — the most generous allowance New Zealand offers any nationality — and removes the need for a Visitor Visa entirely.
Not under the transit waiver. You must remain airside for the entire layover, which cannot exceed 24 hours. To enter New Zealand on a BOTC passport you need a Visitor Visa arranged in advance.
You need a new NZeTA on the British passport. The authorisation is tied to a specific passport number, and the airline will find no match if you present a different document at check-in.
Over 30 hours with two or more connections, typically through a US east coast gateway and then Los Angeles, or through London and a Gulf hub. There is no short route.
Your nationality is already set to Bermuda. Complete the form in under ten minutes, and our team will check every detail before it reaches Immigration New Zealand.
Other nationalities
Stay limits, entry conditions and levy rules differ by passport. Here are the guides for other nationalities.
