New Zealand visa costs: what you must check on official fees pages

Immigration New Zealand does not publish a single consolidated visa fee schedule in the official pages cited here. The pages that describe who can apply for each work, visitor and residence visa do not state the application fee, the cost of an NZeTA, or the price of a variation of conditions. To find out how much a visa costs in New Zealand, you must check the fees page for the specific visa you intend to apply for, because the amount varies by visa type, by how you apply and by your circumstances. This article sets out what the official sources do confirm about costs and timelines, and names the exact pages where you must verify the figures yourself.

What the official pages do not tell you about cost

The official guidance for this article is drawn from Immigration New Zealand’s visa category pages. Those pages describe eligibility, conditions and application steps, but they do not list fees. For example, the page “Visas for working in New Zealand” lists the Accredited Employer Work Visa, the Skilled Migrant Category Resident Visa, the Straight to Residence Visa and the Work to Residence visas, but it gives no price for any of them. Similarly, the “Who can apply for a working holiday visa” page explains age limits, permitted work and study, and the requirement to apply online, but it does not state the application fee.

The practical consequence is that no reliable answer to “how much does a visa cost in New Zealand” can be given from these sources. The correct next step is to open the page for the specific visa you are considering and look for a link labelled “Fees” or “How much does it cost”. Immigration New Zealand structures its site so that each visa page carries its own fee information, and those figures change. Do not rely on a number you saw elsewhere or on a figure quoted by a third party.

What the official pages do confirm about costs and conditions

Although the pages do not state fees, they do confirm several facts that affect the total cost of a New Zealand visa application. These are worth noting because they shape how much you will pay and when.

Fact	Source	What it means for cost
Working holiday visas must be applied for online	Who can apply for a working holiday visa	You pay the online application fee; paper applications are not an option for most schemes
UK and Canadian subsequent working holiday applications must be made on paper	Who can apply for a working holiday visa	A paper form may carry different processing or handling costs; check the scheme page
You must have a return ticket or be able to pay for one	Who can apply for a working holiday visa	Budget for a ticket even if you intend to stay the full visa period
You may need a medical certificate or chest X-ray	Who can apply for a working holiday visa	Medical examinations are a separate cost from the visa fee
If you stay past your visa expiry, you must apply for a new temporary visa	Check or change your visitor visa conditions	A new application means a new fee; you cannot simply extend
Changing conditions does not change the expiry date	Check or change your visitor visa conditions	A variation of conditions is a separate application with its own cost

None of these entries states a dollar amount. They are included because they determine whether you will need to pay for more than just the base visa application.

Working holiday visa costs and timelines

The working holiday visa is the most common route for young travellers, and the official guidance gives clear conditions around it. You must be aged 18 to 30, or 18 to 35 in a select few countries, and be a citizen of a country that has a working holiday agreement with New Zealand. The visa normally allows you to stay up to 12 months, though Canadian citizens can stay up to 23 months and United Kingdom citizens up to 36 months.

On cost, the page tells you that you must apply online and in English, and that you will need to create an account before you can pay the fees that apply. It does not say what those fees are. It also confirms that you must have a return ticket or be able to pay for one, which is a real cost even if you never use the ticket. If you plan to stay more than 12 months in New Zealand in total, you must have a chest X-ray and a general medical examination, and those examinations are billed separately by the medical provider.

On timelines, the page states that you must arrive in New Zealand within 12 months of the date your visa is issued. If you do not arrive within that window, the visa expires and you cannot apply for another working holiday visa. It also warns that if you are from a visa waiver country and you do not tick the correct option on your New Zealand Traveller Declaration, you may be given a visitor visa at the border and your working holiday visa will be cancelled.

Accredited Employer Work Visa costs and conditions

The Accredited Employer Work Visa (AEWV) is the main employer-sponsored work visa. The official guidance confirms that you can apply if you have a job offer from an accredited employer, and that the employer must send you a link to the online application form. The visa lets you stay in New Zealand from 7 months to 5 years, depending on your job, skill level, how much you are paid and when you applied.

The page does not state the AEWV fee. It also does not state the fee for employer accreditation, which is a separate application that the employer must make before they can offer you a job that supports an AEWV. If you are comparing the AEWV with a work to residence visa, you will need to check the fees page for each one separately, because the official guidance gives no comparative pricing.

Work to residence and residence visa costs

The official guidance mentions several residence pathways: the Skilled Migrant Category Resident Visa, the Straight to Residence Visa, the Care Workforce Work to Residence Visa, the Transport Work to Residence Visa, and the Work to Residence Visa. It also mentions the Partner of a New Zealander Work Visa and the Partner of a Worker Work Visa.

None of these pages states a fee. The pages describe who can apply and what conditions apply, but the cost of a residence application is not given. If you are researching “work to residence visa NZ cost” or “New Zealand permanent visa cost”, the answer from these sources is that the figure is not published on the pages cited. You must go to the individual visa page and follow the fees link.

Visitor visa conditions and the cost of changing them

For people already in New Zealand on a visitor visa, the official guidance explains that you can apply for a variation of conditions if you want to study part-time for longer than 3 months, do seasonal work such as fruit picking, change your travel conditions, or work part-time in specific circumstances. It also states clearly that changing the conditions of your visa will not change its expiry date, and that if you want to stay longer you must apply for a new visa.

The page does not state the fee for a variation of conditions. It does confirm that you should apply at least 1 month before your current visa’s expiry date, and that if your current temporary visa expires while you are waiting for a decision, Immigration New Zealand will normally issue you an Interim Visa. The Interim Visa is a separate document with its own conditions, and the page does not state whether a fee applies to it.

What to do next and what to verify

Because the official pages cited here do not state fees, your next step is to open the specific visa page for the application you intend to make and locate the fees link. Immigration New Zealand publishes fees per visa, and those fees can change without notice. Do not assume that a figure you saw on a forum, a blog or an agency website is current.

You should also verify the following on the official page before you apply:

• The exact application fee for your visa type, including any separate fee for a variation of conditions or an Interim Visa.
• Whether your scheme requires a paper application, as is the case for subsequent UK and Canadian working holiday applications.
• Whether you need a medical examination or chest X-ray, and what those cost in your location.
• Whether your employer must pay for accreditation before they can sponsor you.
• The processing time for your visa, which the pages cited here do not state.

The official pages are the only reliable source for these figures. If a number is not on the page, treat it as unverified.