New Zealand has the second-most expensive visitor visa in the world

Trenz has shown local operators were eyeing a return of Chinese tourists. Photo / 123rf

A study has revealed New Zealand now has the second-most expensive visitor visa in the world, behind the US.

The average cost of a visitor visa is $170 across all valid visa classes. With just 60 countries eligible for a cheaper New Zealand Electronic Travel Authority (NZeTA) costing $17 to $23, the majority of tourists must pay a standard visitor visa fee costing $211.

According to the study by William Russel Insurance, this was just $33 less than the average US tourist visa fee.

The US has the most expensive non-migrant visa fee, which is increasing from US$160 to US$185 ($296) at the end of this month. The US electronic visa waiver programme, the ESTA, also increased last year to $33 for New Zealand passport holders.

New Zealand’s average tourist visitor fee is still $26 cheaper than in Australia, although New Zealand allows applicants to include partners and dependents on their travel documents.

Kiwi passport to increase in cost

It’s not just travelling to New Zealand which is expensive. The same study ranks the Kiwi passport as the sixth-most expensive in the world.

Although New Zealand is set to increase the cost of a 10-year passport next week, Australian passports are by far the most expensive travel documents.

An adult Australian passport costs $346.50 - eight times the cost of a Czech passport, which at $42 is the cheapest in the world. It is also valid for up to 10 years.

Some countries issue passports for a period of only five years. While the Swedish passport costs $246.33, it must be renewed twice as often, meaning travel is even more expensive than even the Australian document.

Next Thursday, May 25, the cost of applying for an adult New Zealand passport increases from $199 to $206, and a child’s passport increases by $5 to $120.

Despite the increased cost, many new passports will still be issued under the name of the late Queen Elizabeth II, as the Department of Internal Affairs says it will take until the middle of the year for the old book stock to be used.