Vaccination requirements for travel to New Zealand

You must meet vaccination requirements

Most travellers must meet COVID-19 vaccination requirements before travelling to New Zealand by air. You will be required to provide proof of your vaccinations.

If you do not meet the vaccination requirements, you will not be able to enter New Zealand.

Who needs proof of vaccination to enter New Zealand

You need to provide proof of vaccination to enter New Zealand if you are:

• not a New Zealand citizen or resident
• not an Australian citizen living in New Zealand
• not a New Zealand citizen or resident and you are transiting New Zealand
• foreign air crew arriving in New Zealand.

Vaccination exemptions

You may be able to get an exemption if you are travelling to New Zealand from a country with no, or limited access to COVID-19 vaccines.

You will need to apply to the Ministry of Health for an exemption, along with evidence of why you need one. The Director-General of Health will decide if you can get an exemption.

Check if you might qualify for an exemption, and apply at the Ministry of Health:

Apply for an exemption | Ministry of Health (external link)

Who does not need proof of vaccination to enter New Zealand

You do not need to have proof of vaccination if you:

• are a New Zealand citizen
• have a New Zealand residence class visa
• are an Australian citizen living in New Zealand
• are a child aged 16 years and under
• cannot be vaccinated for medical reasons — you will need electronic or paper evidence from a health practitioner
• are a refugee arriving in New Zealand for the first time
• are a citizen of Afghanistan and you are being evacuated
• are arriving from Antarctica
• have been granted a visa under the 2022 Special Ukraine Visa Policy; or if you are or were ordinarily resident in Ukraine at any point on or after 1 January 2022.

Approved vaccines for entry to New Zealand

Any vaccine that has been approved by at least 1 government health authority or approval authority is approved for entry into New Zealand.

To be eligible to enter New Zealand, you must have had a full course of an approved COVID-19 vaccine. A full course of some of the approved vaccines is 1 dose only.

You can have a combination of different vaccines if that combination is an approved course in the country you received them. Each of the vaccines must be on the list of approved vaccines.

How to provide proof of vaccination

You need a digital vaccine certificate or another form of electronic or paper document from a government health authority or approval authority confirming you have had a full COVID-19 vaccine course.

Your evidence must confirm that you have received 1 or more COVID-19 vaccines (how many doses depends on which vaccine you have received), and:

• your name
• the name of the vaccine or vaccines you received
• the name of the agency that administered them
• the name of the place where you received them
• the date of each dose or the date when a primary vaccination course was completed.