Slovenia 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
Slovenia produces mountaineers and climbers out of all proportion to its size, and New Zealand's Southern Alps are a natural target. Slovenian alpinists have a long history in the Aoraki region, and the broader travel pattern follows — long independent trips centred on the South Island.
Ljubljana has limited long-haul connectivity. Most Slovenian itineraries begin in Vienna, Venice, Zagreb or Munich, with total journey times of around 28 to 32 hours.
Slovenia 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 linked to your passport number and checked by the airline before departure.
At a glance
Eligibility
No visa, but an NZeTA is required. Slovenian citizens can enter New Zealand for tourism, visiting family, business meetings, conferences or transit for up to 90 days under the visa waiver.
New Zealand operates a working holiday scheme with Slovenia, subject to a small annual quota. It is a separate visa granted before travel, and conditions change year to year — check current availability rather than assuming. An NZeTA gives no right to work.
Eligibility follows the passport rather than residence. Residents of Slovenia holding Bosnian, Serbian, Kosovan or North Macedonian passports are not covered by the Slovenian waiver and need a New Zealand Visitor Visa applied for well in advance.
Stay & validity
Slovenian passport holders may stay up to 90 days per visit. The NZeTA lasts two years from approval and permits unlimited entries, so the cap applies to each individual stay.
Ninety days covers a full southern-hemisphere climbing season, which is the most common Slovenian itinerary. Extending requires a Visitor Visa applied for from inside New Zealand before your existing permission expires.
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 Istanbul may apply stricter rules, and the strictest requirement on the itinerary governs.
Pricing
Live fees for Slovenian 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 Slovenia
Requirements
Everything Slovenian 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.
Slovenian requests are approved automatically in most cases, often within minutes. Immigration New Zealand advises allowing up to 72 hours because a proportion are referred for manual assessment, usually over a photograph the automated check cannot read.
Apply at least a week before departure. Because most Slovenian travellers depart from Vienna, Venice or Zagreb rather than Ljubljana, a problem discovered at the desk is across a border with no easy remedy.
Getting there
Ljubljana has limited intercontinental service, so most Slovenian travellers depart from Vienna, Venice, Zagreb or Munich. Total journey times run to around 28 to 32 hours.
Best time to go
New Zealand's climbing season runs roughly November to February — the exact inverse of the Julian Alps season, which is why Slovenian alpinists travel south. It is also the peak tourist season across the country.
For general touring, February to April gives settled autumn weather with far fewer visitors. October and November are the spring equivalent, with long daylight returning to Fiordland.
The Slovenian summer of July and August falls in the New Zealand winter, suited to ski touring rather than climbing. New Zealand is 10 to 12 hours ahead of Slovenia 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 Slovenia — we check for every one of them before submitting.
The machine-readable zone strips č, š and ž to C, S and Z. The NZeTA must match that encoded version rather than the printed page, since airline systems compare against the machine-readable zone.
Not an immigration matter, but the most consequential practical error for Slovenian climbers. New Zealand's alpine weather changes far faster than in the Julian Alps, glacial travel is more complex, and rescue coverage is far thinner.
Most Slovenian travellers board in Austria, Italy or Croatia, and the check happens there. There is no way to obtain an NZeTA at the airport.
The working holiday quota is small and the visa must be granted before travel. Working on a visitor entry is a breach that can end in removal and a re-entry ban.
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 Ljubljana — regional coverage is provided from Rome, with an honorary consulate in Slovenia. 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 Slovenian passport holders ask most often about travelling to New Zealand.
No visitor visa is required — Slovenia is on New Zealand's visa waiver list. You do need an NZeTA, requested online before departure and checked by the airline wherever you first board. It covers stays of up to 90 days.
Up to 90 days per visit, which comfortably covers a full southern-hemisphere climbing season. The NZeTA lasts two years with unlimited entries, but each individual stay is capped at 90 days.
Roughly November to February, the southern summer — the inverse of the Julian Alps season. Conditions are more volatile than in the European Alps, with faster weather changes and thinner rescue coverage, so plan conservatively.
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 Slovenian passport holders including our service fee.
No. The NZeTA is tied to your passport, not to a departure airport, and it is checked wherever you first board an international flight. Make sure it is approved before you leave home.
No. New Zealand operates a working holiday scheme with Slovenia, but the annual quota is small and it is a separate visa that must be granted before you travel.
Your nationality is already set to Slovenia. 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.
