© 2026 NZeTA - New Zealand Electronic Travel Authority. All Rights Reserved.
British Overseas Territory → Aotearoa New Zealand
From L.F. Wade International (BDA) to Auckland International (AKL) — Bermuda is on New Zealand’s visa-waiver list. Apply for the NZeTA online from Hamilton or anywhere. Approved within 72 hours, valid 2 years.
Bermuda is a British Overseas Territory located in the North Atlantic Ocean, approximately 1,070 kilometres east of Cape Hatteras, North Carolina — making it the most isolated inhabited island group in the world relative to its nearest major landmass. Despite its tiny size (53 km² and a population of approximately 64,000), Bermuda punches far above its geographic weight: it is one of the world’s leading offshore financial centres and reinsurance markets, with the highest per-capita GDP in the world by some measures.
The island is famous globally for the Bermuda Triangle — the loosely defined Atlantic ocean region between Bermuda, Miami, and San Juan where ships and aircraft have reportedly disappeared under mysterious circumstances since the mid-20th century. Modern research attributes most incidents to weather, navigational error, and the heavy volume of traffic in the region, but the legend endures. More practically, Bermuda is known for its pink sand beaches, pastel-painted architecture, cricket culture, and the Bermuda shorts that bear its name — the knee-length tailored shorts worn even in formal business settings.
New Zealand, situated in the South Pacific over 13,000 kilometres from Bermuda, shares several traits with its North Atlantic counterpart: both are small island territories that have prospered through maritime trade, both have strong cricket traditions, and both are English-speaking democracies with high quality of life and natural landscapes that attract international visitors. Bermuda citizens holding a valid Bermudian or British passport are on New Zealand’s visa-waiver list and must hold an approved NZeTA before flying to New Zealand.
Four documents are required to complete your NZeTA application from Bermuda.
Your passport must be a valid British Overseas Territories Citizen (BOTC) passport issued in Bermuda, or a full British citizen passport. It must be biometric and valid for at least 3 months beyond your planned departure date from New Zealand. The passport number entered during the NZeTA application must exactly match the document you will travel on. Temporary or emergency documents are not accepted.
A clear digital photograph of your face taken against a plain white or light-coloured background within the past 6 months. Your full face must be visible, eyes open and looking directly at the camera, with no glasses, hats, or filters. The photograph is uploaded during the online application process. A blurry or non-compliant photo is the most frequent cause of processing delays for Bermudian NZeTA applicants.
An active email address that you regularly monitor is required to receive the NZeTA approval notification and your application reference number. The NZeTA is entirely electronic — there is no physical stamp, label, or document. Your airline checks the NZeTA electronically at check-in using your passport number, and New Zealand Border Force verifies it upon arrival. No printout is required, but keeping the approval email accessible is advisable.
A credit or debit card is required to pay both the NZeTA application service fee and the mandatory New Zealand government International Visitor Levy (IVL) in a single secure online transaction. BMD (Bermudian dollar) and USD cards are accepted, as are major international cards (Visa, Mastercard, American Express). The IVL is a government levy charged on all international visitors arriving in New Zealand by air and is separate from the application service fee.
Four steps to complete your NZeTA application, entirely online from Hamilton or anywhere.
Fill in the online application form with your full name as it appears on your Bermudian or British passport, your passport number and expiry date, date of birth, nationality, and intended travel dates. All details must exactly match your physical travel document. The online form saves your progress, so you can complete it in stages if needed.
Submit a clear digital face photograph meeting New Zealand’s biometric standards. The image must show your full face, be in sharp focus, be taken against a plain light background, and have no glasses, hats, or obstructions. Face photographs are the most common point of error — a rejected photo means your application cannot proceed until a compliant image is submitted.
Review all entered information carefully before proceeding to payment. Pay the NZeTA service fee and the New Zealand government International Visitor Levy (IVL) together in a single secure payment. Once payment is confirmed, your application is automatically submitted to New Zealand Immigration for assessment. You cannot modify the application after payment without submitting a new one.
Your NZeTA approval notification is sent by email, typically within 72 hours of application submission. No physical document is required at the airport — the NZeTA is electronically attached to your passport number. Present your Bermudian or British passport at check-in and at New Zealand border control. The NZeTA is valid for 2 years from approval with multiple entries, each stay up to 90 days.
Permitted and not-permitted activities under the NZeTA for Bermudian travellers.
Tourism, sightseeing, visiting friends and family, attending conferences, eligible business meetings (no paid work), adventure activities (hiking, skiing, diving), short courses under 3 months, and transit through Auckland International Airport are all permitted.
Paid employment, full-time study programmes over 3 months, long-term medical treatment, and permanent residency applications all require a separate visa from Immigration New Zealand. The NZeTA does not grant work rights of any kind, including for Bermuda-based financial or reinsurance professionals travelling on business.
No direct flights exist from Bermuda to New Zealand. Routes go either westbound across the Pacific or eastbound through Europe and Asia.
The westbound Pacific routing offers the widest flight choice and most competitive fares for Bermudian travellers. Los Angeles is the primary gateway for transpacific flights to Auckland.
The eastbound route suits Bermudian travellers combining a New Zealand trip with a Europe or Asia stopover. The direct BDA–LHR service on British Airways makes London the natural eastbound gateway.
Bermuda is an island that gave the world several enduring cultural artefacts — each with a parallel in New Zealand.
The knee-length tailored shorts known worldwide as “Bermuda shorts” were originally adapted by British military forces stationed in Bermuda during the early 20th century, who modified their standard uniforms for tropical conditions while maintaining formal standards. By mid-century, Bermuda shorts had been adopted as official business attire on the island — worn with blazers, dress socks pulled to the knee, and formal shoes in banks, law firms, and government offices. The practice continues today: Bermuda’s dress code blends formality with island practicality, and wearing Bermuda shorts in a business meeting is considered entirely appropriate.
NZ counterpart: New Zealand’s relaxed business dress code — especially in the tech, creative, and outdoors industries where jandals (flip-flops), shorts, and casual dress in professional settings is widely accepted. Both Bermuda and New Zealand demonstrate how small-island climates and culture reshape what “professional” means.
The term “Bermuda Triangle” was coined by American writer Vincent Gaddis in a 1964 magazine article describing a loosely defined region of the North Atlantic between Bermuda, Miami, and San Juan, Puerto Rico, where ships and aircraft had apparently vanished without explanation since the 19th century. The legend grew through the 1970s with multiple bestselling books, television specials, and ultimately a 1977 film. Modern analysis by the US Coast Guard and Lloyd’s of London has found no statistical evidence of unusual disappearance rates in the region — the area carries some of the world’s heaviest maritime and air traffic and loses ships at the same proportional rate as other heavily trafficked ocean regions.
NZ counterpart: The Bermuda Triangle myth parallels New Zealand’s own Pacific navigation mysteries — the disappearance of Polynesian explorer wakas in the South Pacific, and the enduring mystery of where Kupe, the legendary Māori discoverer of Aotearoa, originally departed from and sailed to. Both are stories of ocean navigation, mystery, and the vastness of the water world that island cultures inhabit.
The Gombey is Bermuda’s most distinctive cultural performance tradition — a masked dance featuring elaborately costumed performers in tall feathered headdresses, sequined capes, and carrying small whips and bows, performing to the driving rhythm of snare drums, bass drums, and whistles. Gombey traditions originated in the 18th century from enslaved Africans in Bermuda blending West African dance traditions with Indigenous Caribbean and British military influences. Gombey troupes perform during public holidays and special occasions throughout the year, appearing unexpectedly in Hamilton’s streets as a living cultural surprise.
NZ counterpart: Māori haka — a similarly dramatic, physically immersive cultural performance with deep historical roots in warrior tradition, communal identity, and spiritual expression. Like the Gombey, haka is performed at significant public events, can appear unexpectedly as an expression of emotion or honour, and carries cultural weight far beyond entertainment. Both are living traditions maintained in island cultures where performance is inseparable from identity.
The Bermuda onion is a sweet, mild variety of onion that was Bermuda’s primary agricultural export from the mid-17th century through the early 20th century. So central was onion-growing to the island’s pre-tourism economy that Bermudians were nicknamed “Onions” by visiting sailors and merchants — a name that endured for generations. Bermuda onion seeds were taken to Texas in the 1890s, where they became the basis of the Texas Sweet Onion industry. The onion nickname now sits alongside the conch shell and pink sand as one of Bermuda’s most recognisable cultural markers, even though onion farming has largely disappeared from the modern island economy.
NZ counterpart: The kiwifruit — a crop so associated with New Zealand that the country’s people are internationally nicknamed “Kiwis.” Like the Bermuda onion, the kiwifruit is an agricultural product (originally from China, naturalised and developed into a commercial success in New Zealand) that became so identified with the nation that the food and the people share a name. Both small island nations have been defined internationally by a single crop.
100% online from Hamilton or anywhere. Approved within 72 hours. Valid 2 years with multiple entries.
Start NZeTA Application — Bermuda Passport© 2026 NZeTA - New Zealand Electronic Travel Authority. All Rights Reserved.