Seychelles is on New Zealand's visa waiver list, so no visitor visa is required — but an NZeTA must be approved before you board. 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
Seychelles is one of only two Indian Ocean or African states whose passport holders can use New Zealand's visa waiver, and the travel between the two countries is small but purposeful. Marine conservation, fisheries management and small-island climate policy generate a steady technical exchange, alongside education and occasional tourism.
There is no nonstop service. Mahé connects through Dubai, Doha, Singapore or Colombo, with total journey times of around 22 to 28 hours.
Seychelles 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. Seychellois citizens can enter New Zealand for tourism, visiting family, business meetings, conferences or transit for up to 90 days under the visa waiver.
Eligibility follows the passport. The Seychelles has a substantial expatriate workforce, particularly in tourism and fisheries, and residents holding Indian, Sri Lankan, Kenyan, Malagasy or Filipino passports are not covered by the Seychellois waiver — they need a New Zealand Visitor Visa applied for several weeks in advance.
The waiver covers visiting rather than working. Technical placements, fisheries observer work and research positions all require the appropriate work visa arranged before travel, even where the visit is part of an official programme.
Stay & validity
Seychellois 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 the technical and conference travel that makes up much of this market, the two-year validity covers several visits on one authorisation.
The authorisation is bound to one passport number for two years, and a renewal voids it with no transfer available.
New Zealand requires three months of passport validity beyond your departure. Routings through Dubai, Doha or Singapore may apply a six-month rule of their own, and the strictest requirement on the itinerary governs.
Pricing
Live fees for Seychellois 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 Seychelles
Requirements
Everything Seychellois 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.
Seychellois 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 two weeks before departure rather than one. Seychellois passports are uncommon enough that a check-in agent may want to verify the authorisation manually, and the limited flight schedule out of Mahé means a missed departure can cost several days.
Getting there
There is no nonstop service between Seychelles and New Zealand. Mahé connects through Dubai, Doha, Singapore and Colombo, with total journey times of around 22 to 28 hours. Flight frequencies are limited, so connections need care.
Best time to go
Seychelles has no strong seasonal variation, so the timing decision is entirely about New Zealand. December to February is the New Zealand summer with the best conditions and the highest prices.
March to May and September to November are the value windows, with settled weather and far fewer visitors. For conference and technical travel these months are usually the most practical anyway.
The New Zealand winter of June to August is quiet and inexpensive but with short days. New Zealand is eight to nine hours ahead of Seychelles 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 Seychelles — we check for every one of them before submitting.
The Seychelles workforce includes many non-citizens on Indian, Sri Lankan, Kenyan and Filipino passports. Only Seychellois citizens are covered by the waiver — others need a Visitor Visa arranged several weeks in advance.
Technical exchanges, fisheries programmes and research placements often come with institutional support, but the traveller still needs their own NZeTA or, for work, the appropriate work visa. Confirm rather than assume the host organisation has handled it.
Long-haul departures from Mahé are infrequent. A refusal at check-in for want of an NZeTA can mean waiting days rather than hours for the next option, which is why two weeks of margin is worth having.
Cards issued in Seychelles are sometimes restricted for foreign online transactions. A declined payment means the request was never submitted, which is often not noticed until the airport.
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 mission in Seychelles — regional coverage is provided from Pretoria, with honorary consular representation in Victoria. Neither is involved in an NZeTA request, which is completed entirely online. They handle work visas, student visas, residence applications and consular assistance.
FAQs
The questions Seychellois passport holders ask most often about travelling to New Zealand.
No visitor visa is required — Seychelles is on New Zealand's visa waiver list, one of only two Indian Ocean or African states on it. You need an NZeTA, requested online before departure and checked by the airline at Mahé. It covers stays of up to 90 days.
Up to 90 days per visit. The NZeTA lasts two years and allows unlimited entries in that period, but each individual stay is capped at 90 days.
Only if the country that issued your passport is on New Zealand's visa waiver list. Indian, Sri Lankan, Kenyan, Malagasy and Filipino passport holders need a Visitor Visa applied for several weeks in advance. Seychelles residence carries no weight with Immigration New Zealand.
Yes, for a visit. If the programme involves paid work, research placement or a formal secondment, you will need the appropriate work visa instead, arranged before you travel. Do not assume the host organisation has handled your immigration status.
At least two weeks rather than one. Long-haul departures from Mahé are infrequent, so a problem at check-in can mean waiting days for the next flight rather than hours.
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 Seychellois passport holders including our service fee.
Your nationality is already set to Seychelles. 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.
