Luxembourg is on New Zealand's visa waiver list, so no visitor visa is needed — but an NZeTA must be approved before boarding. It is requested online, valid two years, with stays of up to 90 days.
90 days
Maximum stay per visit
2 years
NZeTA validity
Multiple
Entries permitted
Under 72 hrs
Typical decision time
100% online
No embassy visit
Overview
Luxembourg is small, wealthy and unusually mobile, and its citizens travel long-haul at rates well above the European average. New Zealand appeals particularly for extended trips, and the country's compact size means most travellers depart from Findel or drive to Frankfurt, Brussels or Paris for a wider choice of long-haul connections.
There is no nonstop service, and Luxembourg's own airport has limited intercontinental reach, so almost every itinerary begins with a short hop or a drive to a larger hub. Total journey times run to around 28 to 32 hours.
Luxembourg is on New Zealand's visa waiver list, so there is no visitor visa to apply for. Since October 2019 every traveller needs an NZeTA — an online authorisation held against your passport number and checked by the airline before departure.
At a glance
Eligibility
No visa, but an NZeTA is required. Luxembourg citizens can enter New Zealand for tourism, visiting family, business meetings, conferences or transit for up to 90 days under the visa waiver.
The waiver covers visiting rather than working. Employment in New Zealand requires a work visa arranged before travel, and study beyond three months requires a student visa. Neither can be organised from an NZeTA after arrival.
Eligibility follows the passport rather than residence. Luxembourg has an exceptionally international population, with a very large share of residents holding Portuguese, French, Italian, Belgian and German passports — all of which are also on the waiver list — but residents on non-EU passports are assessed on their own nationality and many will need a Visitor Visa.
Stay & validity
Luxembourg passport holders may stay up to 90 days per visit. The NZeTA lasts two years from approval and permits unlimited entries in that period, so the cap applies to each individual stay.
Extending beyond 90 days is not automatic. It requires a Visitor Visa applied for from within New Zealand before your existing permission expires, assessed on its merits rather than granted as a formality.
The authorisation is bound to a single passport number for two years, and a renewal voids it with no transfer available. Check your expiry date before requesting rather than after.
New Zealand requires three months of passport validity beyond your departure from the country. Because Luxembourg itineraries invariably transit a Gulf or Asian hub, check the transit country's own rule too — several require six months.
Pricing
Live fees for Luxembourg 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 Luxembourg
Requirements
Everything Luxembourg 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.
Luxembourg requests are approved automatically in most cases, often within minutes. Immigration New Zealand advises allowing up to 72 hours because a small share are referred for manual assessment, usually over a photograph the automated check cannot read.
Apply at least a week before departure. Luxembourg journeys typically involve two connections, so a problem at the first check-in desk — whether at Findel, Frankfurt or Brussels — collapses the entire booking rather than one leg.
Getting there
Luxembourg has no direct long-haul service to New Zealand, and most travellers begin with a short flight or a drive to Frankfurt, Brussels, Paris or Amsterdam, then connect through a Gulf or Asian hub.
Best time to go
New Zealand's summer of December to February is the reverse of Luxembourg's winter and gives the best conditions across both islands. It is peak season, so book campervans, Great Walk huts and Queenstown accommodation well ahead.
March to May and September to November are the value windows, with settled weather and considerably fewer visitors. Fares from the Frankfurt and Brussels hubs are noticeably lower outside the December peak.
The European summer holidays in July and August fall in the New Zealand winter. It is a good ski season but a poor one for touring. New Zealand is 10 to 12 hours ahead of Luxembourg depending on daylight saving in both countries.
Avoid these
Declines are rare, and almost always technical rather than substantive. These are the problems that come up most often on requests from Luxembourg — we check for every one of them before submitting.
Luxembourg's population is unusually international. Eligibility follows the passport, so a resident holding a non-waiver passport needs a New Zealand Visitor Visa arranged weeks in advance, regardless of how long they have lived in the Grand Duchy.
Luxembourg itineraries usually involve two connections, and airlines check the NZeTA at the first departure point. Being turned away at Findel or Frankfurt means losing the whole booking, and there is no way to obtain an NZeTA at the airport.
Many Luxembourg residents hold dual nationality. The NZeTA is issued against one specific passport number, so request it on the document you will actually present at check-in and use that same passport throughout the trip.
The authorisation does not survive a passport renewal and cannot be transferred. The mismatch only becomes apparent when the new document is scanned at check-in.
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 full embassy in Luxembourg — the Brussels Embassy is accredited to the Grand Duchy. None of these offices is involved in an NZeTA request, which is completed entirely online. They handle work visas, student visas, residence applications and consular assistance for New Zealanders in the region.
FAQs
The questions Luxembourg passport holders ask most often about travelling to New Zealand.
No visitor visa is required — Luxembourg is on New Zealand's visa waiver list. You do need an NZeTA, requested online before departure and checked by the airline at your first departure airport. It covers stays of up to 90 days.
Up to 90 days per visit. The NZeTA lasts two years and allows unlimited entries, but each individual stay is capped at 90 days. Only British citizens receive a longer allowance.
The cost is the government request fee plus the International Visitor Conservation and Tourism Levy, currently NZD 100, both charged together. The pricing panel on this page loads the live all-in figure for Luxembourg passport holders including our service fee.
Only if the country that issued your passport is on New Zealand's visa waiver list. A Luxembourg residence permit carries no weight with Immigration New Zealand. If your nationality is not on the list, you need a Visitor Visa, which takes considerably longer.
No. The NZeTA is a national authorisation tied to your passport, not to a departure airport. It is checked at whichever airport you first board an international flight, so make sure it is approved before you leave home.
Yes, every traveller does, including infants. Each child needs their own valid passport and their own request, and cannot be added to a parent's.
Your nationality is already set to Luxembourg. 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.
