Colombia is on New Zealand's transit visa waiver list. An NZeTA lets you transit through Auckland Airport, but visiting New Zealand requires a Visitor Visa applied for before you travel.
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
Colombia is on New Zealand's transit visa waiver list rather than the full visa waiver list, which means an NZeTA can carry a Colombian passport holder through Auckland Airport on the way elsewhere but does not permit entry into New Zealand.
This is worth stating plainly because Colombia has become a significant source of English-language students heading to Australia and New Zealand, and there is a widespread assumption that the two countries work the same way. They do not. New Zealand requires Colombian nationals to hold a visa before entering.
The transit case is genuine, though: Auckland is a natural stopping point between South America and Australia or the Pacific, and Colombians routing that way need an NZeTA even though they never leave the terminal.
At a glance
Eligibility
It depends on what you are doing. Changing planes at Auckland and departing within 24 hours falls under the transit waiver, and an NZeTA is the right document. Entering New Zealand for any purpose requires a Visitor Visa or another appropriate visa, granted before you fly.
Study is the point that matters most for Colombian travellers. New Zealand is a popular destination for English-language study, and a student visa is required for any course length — the three-month visitor study concession available to visa waiver nationalities does not apply to Colombian passport holders. Applications take weeks and require proof of enrolment, funds and accommodation.
Employment requires an employer-supported work visa. New Zealand's working holiday schemes are not available to Colombian nationals in the way they are to waiver countries.
Stay & validity
The transit 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 on this basis lasts two years and covers repeated transits, but never becomes permission to enter New Zealand however many times you have used it.
A layover longer than 24 hours falls outside the waiver and needs 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 you need a confirmed onward ticket plus a valid visa for your onward destination where one is required — Australia requires one for Colombian passport holders.
Pricing
Live fees for Colombian 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 Colombia
Requirements
Everything Colombian 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 for transit are usually approved within minutes, with Immigration New Zealand advising up to 72 hours. Visitor Visa and student visa applications take several weeks and require supporting documents and biometrics.
Establish which document you need before booking anything. Colombian students in particular are often advised by agents on Australian requirements and assume New Zealand matches — it does not, and a student visa must be granted before departure.
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
Bogotá connects to Auckland through Santiago on the LATAM trans-Pacific service, or through Buenos Aires. The transit case arises for Colombians heading onward to Australia or the Pacific islands.
Best time to go
For a genuine transit the season does not matter. For a visit on a Visitor Visa, 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 for a visit, with settled weather and lower fares on the trans-Pacific routing.
New Zealand is 17 to 18 hours ahead of Bogotá depending on southern daylight saving, 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 Colombia — we check for every one of them before submitting.
The most common Colombian error. Australia's entry arrangements for Colombian nationals differ from New Zealand's, and study agents frequently advise on one without flagging the other. New Zealand requires a visa before entry, and a student visa for any course length.
Colombia is on the transit waiver list only. An NZeTA obtained for transit does not permit entry, and arriving in Auckland intending to stay results in refusal and return at your own cost.
The transit waiver requires a valid visa for your onward destination where one is needed. Australia requires one for Colombian passport holders, and the check happens at Bogotá before you board.
Colombian passports carry both paternal and maternal surnames. The authorisation must match the machine-readable zone exactly, including the order shown.
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
The Embassy in Bogotá does not issue NZeTAs, which are handled entirely online, but it matters here because most Colombian travellers need a Visitor Visa or a student visa instead. Those run through Immigration New Zealand with supporting documents and biometrics, and take weeks rather than minutes.
FAQs
The questions Colombian passport holders ask most often about travelling to New Zealand.
Yes, for a visit. Colombia is on New Zealand's transit visa waiver list, not the full visa waiver list. An NZeTA only covers changing planes at Auckland within 24 hours. To enter New Zealand you need a Visitor Visa applied for before you travel.
A student visa, for any course length. The three-month study concession available to visa waiver nationalities does not apply to Colombian passport holders. The application requires proof of enrolment, funds and accommodation, and takes several weeks.
No, and this is the most common misunderstanding. The two countries have different entry arrangements for Colombian nationals. Advice about Australian requirements does not transfer, and New Zealand requires a visa granted before you enter.
No. Under the transit waiver you remain airside for the entire layover, which cannot exceed 24 hours. To leave the airport you would need a Transit Visa or a Visitor Visa arranged in advance.
Include both, in the exact order and spelling shown in the machine-readable zone at the bottom of your passport photo page. Omitting the maternal surname is a common cause of a mismatch at check-in.
Several weeks, and longer at busy periods. It is assessed individually with supporting documents and biometrics. Start the process well before committing to non-refundable flights.
Your nationality is already set to Colombia. 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.
