Saudi Arabia is on New Zealand's visa waiver list, so no visitor visa is required — 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
Saudi travel to New Zealand is dominated by two things: summer escapes from the Gulf heat, and education. New Zealand hosts a substantial Saudi student population, and family visits to students in Auckland, Hamilton and Christchurch account for a meaningful share of arrivals.
There is no nonstop service. Riyadh and Jeddah connect through Dubai, Doha and the Asian hubs, with total journey times of around 20 to 26 hours — considerably shorter than from Europe, which is one reason the destination works well for Saudi travellers.
Saudi Arabia 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. Saudi citizens can enter New Zealand for tourism, visiting family, business meetings, conferences or transit for up to 90 days under the visa waiver.
Study is the exception that catches Saudi travellers most often. A course of three months or less can be undertaken on a visitor entry, but a semester, a full-year English programme or a university degree requires a student visa applied for before travel. Government-sponsored scholarship students in particular need the correct visa in place before arrival, not an NZeTA.
Eligibility follows the passport. The waiver applies to Saudi citizens, not to residents. Expatriates living in the Kingdom on Indian, Pakistani, Egyptian, Filipino, Bangladeshi or Sudanese passports are not covered and need a New Zealand Visitor Visa, which takes several weeks. An iqama carries no weight with Immigration New Zealand.
Stay & validity
Saudi 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.
For families visiting a student in New Zealand, the two-year validity is genuinely useful — one NZeTA covers repeated visits across a degree programme, provided the passport does not change.
The authorisation is bound to one passport number for two years. Saudi passports are typically issued for five or ten years, and a renewal inside the window voids the NZeTA with no transfer available.
New Zealand requires three months of passport validity beyond your departure. Routings through Dubai, Doha, Singapore or Kuala Lumpur may apply a six-month rule of their own, and the strictest requirement on the itinerary governs.
Pricing
Live fees for Saudi 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 Saudi Arabia
Requirements
Everything Saudi 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.
Saudi requests are approved automatically in most cases, often within minutes. Immigration New Zealand advises allowing up to 72 hours because a proportion are referred to an officer, usually over a photograph the automated check cannot read.
Apply at least a week before departure, and considerably earlier if anyone travelling with you holds a non-waiver passport. Domestic staff accompanying a family almost always need a Visitor Visa taking several weeks, and that is the single most common cause of a delayed family trip from the Kingdom.
Getting there
There is no nonstop service between Saudi Arabia and New Zealand, but the Gulf hubs are close, which keeps total journey times shorter than from Europe. Riyadh and Jeddah connect through Dubai, Doha, Singapore and Kuala Lumpur in around 20 to 26 hours.
Best time to go
The Saudi summer, June through September, is when most travel heads for cooler climates — and that is the New Zealand winter. Queenstown and Wanaka offer skiing, and the temperature contrast with the Gulf is dramatic, but daylight is short and South Island touring is more limited than in summer.
New Zealand's own summer of December to February gives far better conditions overall — long days, warm coastal weather, everything open. It coincides with the pleasant Gulf winter, which is why fewer Saudi travellers choose it, but it is the better trip if you have flexibility.
March to May and September to November combine settled weather with lower fares out of Riyadh and Jeddah. New Zealand is nine to ten hours ahead of Saudi Arabia depending on southern daylight saving.
Avoid these
Declines are rare, and almost always technical rather than substantive. These are the problems that come up most often on requests from Saudi Arabia — we check for every one of them before submitting.
The waiver applies to Saudi citizens, not to residents. An Indian, Pakistani, Egyptian or Filipino passport holder living in the Kingdom needs a New Zealand Visitor Visa taking several weeks. This is the most consequential error on Saudi bookings, particularly when it affects a domestic employee travelling with the family.
A visitor entry covers short courses of up to three months. A semester, a full-year English programme or a degree requires a student visa arranged before travel. Arriving on an NZeTA intending to enrol is a common and avoidable problem.
Saudi names commonly run to four or five elements including patronymics and a family name. The NZeTA must match the machine-readable zone exactly, and shortening the name to the version used socially causes a mismatch at check-in.
A hijab is entirely acceptable, but the automated check requires the full face to be visible with no shadow across it. Photographs taken indoors under overhead light are the most common cause of a rejection.
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 Riyadh plays no part in an NZeTA request, which is completed entirely online with no appointment. It handles work visas, student visas, residence applications and consular services for New Zealanders in the Kingdom. Student visas and the Visitor Visas that non-Saudi residents will need are processed through Immigration New Zealand's regional office in Dubai.
FAQs
The questions Saudi passport holders ask most often about travelling to New Zealand.
No visitor visa is required — Saudi Arabia is on New Zealand's visa waiver list. Saudi citizens need an NZeTA, requested online before departure and checked by the airline at Riyadh or Jeddah. It covers stays of up to 90 days.
Only if you hold a Saudi passport. The waiver applies to citizens, not residents. An Indian, Pakistani, Egyptian, Filipino or Bangladeshi passport holder needs a New Zealand Visitor Visa taking several weeks. An iqama carries no weight with Immigration New Zealand.
Only for courses of three months or less. A semester, a full-year English programme or a university degree requires a student visa applied for before you travel. Scholarship students must have the correct visa in place before arrival.
Up to 90 days per visit. The NZeTA lasts two years and allows unlimited entries in that period, which is useful for families visiting a student across a degree programme.
Yes. Religious head covering is acceptable, but the full face must be clearly visible with no shadow across it. Photographs taken indoors under overhead lighting are the most frequent cause of an automated rejection.
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 Saudi passport holders including our service fee.
They need their own authorisation, but usually not an NZeTA — most hold passports from countries that are not on New Zealand's waiver list, which means a Visitor Visa arranged several weeks in advance. Check every passport in the party before booking flights.
Your nationality is already set to Saudi Arabia. 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.
