From Friday transit visas will be required for all travel via New Zealand except for people from countries exempted under immigration policy.
Immigration Minister Clayton Cosgrove said all travellers, regardless of what country they were travelling from or going to, would have to get the visas unless they
were from exempted countries.
Until now transit visas - for people in New Zealand for less than 24 hours who will not leave the transit area of an airport - were only required for people travelling to and from the Pacific.
Mr Cosgrove said the change, made as previous transit visa regulations expired, reflected increased security requirements and changing travel patterns.
"In the present global security environment and with new air routes continually opening up, the Government considered it prudent to introduce this new policy which will strengthen our risk management and future-proof our border control relating to people transiting through New Zealand," he said.
Under the new policy people will need a transit visa unless:
* they are travelling on a passport from a country on Immigration New Zealand's list of visa-free countries; or
* they are an Australian citizen, or
* their destination after New Zealand was Australia, and they hold a current visa allowing them to travel to Australia, or
* they have a current visa allowing them to travel to New Zealand, or
* they are citizens of: Bahamas, Bermuda, Colombia and Peru from April 4, Federated States of Micronesia, Kiribati, Nauru, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Republic of Marshall Islands, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu or Vanuatu.
- NZPA
