In order for a foreigner to immigrate to New Zealand from China, the issuance of a visa is necessary. This is required regardless of the visa that the Chinese citizen needs. Thus, whether the person wants to arrive to New Zealand for short-term stays, of up to 90 days, or for stays longer than 90 days, the Chinese passport holder has to start the immigration formalities.
If you need advice on the immigration formalities and the documents that are required for each visa type, our immigration lawyer in New Zealand remains at your service. Our attorney can help you relocate to New Zealand.
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Visa formalities for short-term stays
As we have mentioned above, the legislation on immigration in New Zealand stipulates that Chinese nationals have to apply for a visa in order to have the right to visit this country. In this case, they need to obtain the Visitor visa, granted as a single-entry or multiple-entry document, depending on the needs to the applicant.
At the moment, all foreign applicants, including individuals who relocate to New Zealand from China, must pay processing fees for this visa type, currently starting from NZD 441. Given that visitor visas are granted for short-term arrivals, they do not have a complex processing system, involving the approval of many institutions (as it can be the case of work or investment visas).
This is why the processing of the application can take around 1-2 weeks (a very short amount of time, compared to other visa types, which can be processed in several months).
Concerning short-term arrivals, we mention that, starting with November 2025, Chinese nationals will benefit from new immigration rules, designed to ease the short-term immigration procedures for the nationals of this country, on 2 immigration matters:
- transit (Chinese nationals transiting New Zealand to a different destination);
- short-term visits in New Zealand.
Thus, Chinese nationals will have the right, starting with November 2025, to transit the Auckland International Airport without having to apply for a Transit Visa (as it is the case at the moment). Instead, they will have the right to obtain the New Zealand electronic Travel Authority (NZeTA).
Regarding short-term arrivals, the new law on immigration to New Zealand stipulates that Chinese nationals who hold an Australian visitor, work or student visa will have the right to apply for the NZeTA if they want to arrive in this country for visits of up to 90 days.
The Australian visa mentioned above must be a multiple-entry visa so that the person can be eligible for this immigration system. In all other cases, Chinese nationals must still apply for suitable visas, as regulated by the New Zealand law.
Is there a Working Holiday Visa for Chinese citizens?
Yes, the law on immigration in New Zealand has a working holiday program which is also addressed to Chinese citizens. It is solely addressed to young persons who are Chinese passport holders. The working holiday program is available for many nationalities interested in staying in this country for a limited period of time while studying and working.
The same characteristics presented in the list below are also available for persons moving from USA to New Zealand as participants in this program, the difference being that for US nationals the program is not capped to a specific number of visas per year.
Given that the participants will stay in the country for a period of 1 year, this implies that they will have to complete the necessary formalities for residency in New Zealand. If you need information concerning the residence permit, our immigration lawyer in New Zealand is ready to provide legal assistance and information concerning any procedure involved in the issuance of the document.
When the yearly quota is reached, the authorities no longer accept visa requests, but it is advised to check the website of the New Zealand Immigration Office to find out when the new application session will open. Persons who want to apply for the program the following year should know the following:
- under this visa program, one can immigrate to New Zealand from China for a period of 12 months;
- the program also grants the opportunity to study or participate in trainings for a maximum period of 6 months, concluded throughout the overall visa validity;
- the working holiday program is addressed only to young persons with an age of minimum 18 years old and maximum 30;
- the New Zealand authorities can issue only 1,000 working holiday visas per year to Chinese citizens;
- one must also demonstrate having an income of NZ $4,200 in order to participate in the program.
Can Chinese apply for skilled work visas in New Zealand?
Yes, skilled work visas are also available for eligible Chinese nationals. One of the visa options is the China Skilled Worker visa, which offers the opportunity to relocate to New Zealand for a period of 3 years. This visa is capped at a maximum of 1,000 visas per year. The applicant must prove that he or she has the necessary qualification for the respective skilled work of interest.
An advantage of this visa is that the foreigner is also allowed to study in New Zealand for a period of 3 months in a 12 months period. Besides this, one can arrive here with their partner or dependent children, although the procedure will not be completed as part of the same visa application.
In this particular case, the person who will move to New Zealand from China will have the right to bring the above mentioned if they will apply for visas suitable for their situation, based on the relation that the persons have with the applicant.
Our immigration lawyer in New Zealand can present the types of visas that the spouse or the dependent children can apply for; our attorney can also help you in the process of preparing the visa application for your family members, in order to move to New Zealand.
What documents are necessary for visa application in New Zealand?
The documents that Chinese citizens have to prepare are similar with the ones required for all other foreign nationals. The differences in documents can appear based on the specific visa of interest.
Regardless, one should prepare documents such as: 1) the valid passport, 2) a recent passport photo, 3) proof of having sufficient financial funds, 3) completed application form, 4) documents attesting the purpose of stay.
We invite Chinese nationals who want to migrate to New Zealand to address our team of lawyers specialized in immigration issues. We can help you immigrate to New Zealand for work, study, business, family reunification, etc. We remain at the disposal of those who want to move to New Zealand from China with further advice on other procedures, laws, formalities, etc.
