© 2026 NZeTA - New Zealand Electronic Travel Authority. All Rights Reserved.
Republic of Palau → Aotearoa New Zealand
From the Rock Islands to Auckland — Palau is on New Zealand’s visa-waiver list. No embassy, no appointment. Apply online, receive approval within 72 hours. Valid 2 years with multiple entries.
The Republic of Palau (Palauan: Belau) is an archipelago nation in the western Pacific Ocean, situated approximately 800 kilometres east of the Philippines and 900 kilometres north of New Guinea. Comprising roughly 340 islands and islets spread across approximately 466,000 km² of ocean, Palau is one of the Pacific’s smallest nations by land area (459 km²) but one of its most oceanically expansive by maritime zone. The permanent population of approximately 18,000 is concentrated primarily on Koror — the commercial hub — and the main island of Babeldaob, which is connected to Koror by the Japan–Palau Friendship Bridge and hosts the national capital Ngerulmud. Palauan people are of Micronesian ethnicity with Melanesian and Polynesian elements, and the Palauan language belongs to the Austronesian family.
Palau is internationally recognised as one of the world’s premier marine tourism and scuba diving destinations. The Rock Islands Southern Lagoon was inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2012, encompassing approximately 445 uninhabited limestone “mushroom island” formations rising from a turquoise lagoon above a fringing coral reef, alongside the extraordinary marine lake system that includes Ongeim’l Tketau — known internationally as Jellyfish Lake — where millions of non-stinging golden jellyfish evolved in isolation over approximately 12,000 years after becoming separated from the surrounding ocean at the end of the last ice age. In 2015, Palau established the Palau National Marine Sanctuary, which protects approximately 500,000 km² of ocean — roughly 80% of Palau’s exclusive economic zone — from commercial fishing, making it the largest marine protected area in the Pacific at the time of establishment.
In 2017, Palau pioneered the “Palau Pledge” — the world’s first legally binding environmental commitment embedded in an immigration document. Every visitor arriving in Palau signs the pledge (written in Palauan) stamped into their passport, committing to act as a “guardian of Palau’s beautiful and unique environment.” Palau uses the US dollar and Palauan citizens are on New Zealand’s visa-waiver list, requiring an approved NZeTA before travel to New Zealand.
Four documents required to complete the NZeTA application. USD-denominated cards accepted for payment.
Your Palauan passport must be biometric and valid for at least 3 months beyond your planned departure date from New Zealand. The passport number entered in the NZeTA application must exactly match your physical travel document. If you renew or replace your passport after receiving NZeTA approval, you must submit a new NZeTA application linked to the new passport number before travelling.
A clear digital photograph taken against a plain white or light-coloured background within the past 6 months. Your full face must be visible, eyes open and looking at the camera, no glasses or hat. Uploaded directly during the online application. Photo non-compliance is the most common reason for NZeTA processing delays — a non-compliant photo requires resubmission before your application can be assessed by Immigration New Zealand.
An active email address to receive your NZeTA approval notification and reference number. The NZeTA is entirely electronic — no physical stamp or document is issued. Your airline and New Zealand border control verify it by cross-referencing your passport number against the Immigration New Zealand database. Apply from a stable internet connection, well in advance of travel.
A credit or debit card to pay both the NZeTA service fee and the mandatory New Zealand International Visitor Levy (IVL) in a single secure online transaction. Since Palau uses the US dollar (USD), USD-denominated cards from Palauan or US banks are accepted directly. Major international Visa and Mastercard are accepted for payment.
Four steps to complete your NZeTA application entirely online from Palau or anywhere.
Enter your full name exactly as printed on your Palauan passport, your passport number and expiry date, date of birth, and intended travel dates to New Zealand. All information must precisely match your physical travel document. Spelling errors or date mismatches are the most common causes of application complications and cannot be corrected after payment submission.
Upload a clear digital face photograph meeting New Zealand’s biometric standards: plain white or light background, full face visible, eyes open and looking directly at the camera, no glasses or hat, taken within the past 6 months. Photo quality is the most common cause of processing delays. A non-compliant image must be resubmitted before your application proceeds to assessment.
Review all entered details carefully before proceeding. Pay the NZeTA service fee together with the mandatory New Zealand International Visitor Levy (IVL) in a single secure online payment. USD-denominated cards accepted directly. Your application is automatically submitted on payment confirmation. No modifications are possible after submission.
Your NZeTA approval is delivered by email, typically within 72 hours. No physical document is required — the NZeTA is electronically linked to your Palauan passport number. Present your passport at check-in and at Auckland border control. Valid 2 years, multiple entries, up to 90 consecutive days per stay.
Activities permitted and not permitted under the NZeTA for Palauan passport holders.
There are no direct flights from Palau to New Zealand. All routes connect via Guam (GUM) as the primary Pacific hub for Palau-origin travellers.
Four defining aspects of Palauan history, environment, and culture in parallel with Aotearoa New Zealand.
The Rock Islands Southern Lagoon encompasses approximately 445 uninhabited limestone islands that rise from Palau’s inner lagoon in distinctive “mushroom” formations — their bases undercut by wave action and bioerosion to create inverted shapes that seem to hover above the turquoise water. The lagoon contains over 385 species of coral (more than the Caribbean in its entirety), 13 shark species, dugongs, and some of the highest marine biodiversity on Earth. Within the Rock Islands system lies Ongeim’l Tketau — Jellyfish Lake — where approximately 5 million non-stinging golden jellyfish (Mastigias papua etpisonii) evolved over 12,000 years of isolation after the ocean receded, losing their stinging cells and instead farming symbiotic zooxanthellae algae in the sunlit upper water column. Swimming through millions of pulsing jellyfish at close range — completely harmlessly — is one of the most extraordinary natural experiences available anywhere on Earth.
NZ parallel: New Zealand’s Fiordland National Park (UNESCO World Heritage, Te Wahipounamu) — another Pacific nation where dramatic geologic landscape + extraordinary marine life in an enclosed fjord system (Milford Sound, Doubtful Sound) creates a meeting point of above-water scenery and below-surface biodiversity.
In 2017, Palau became the first country in the world to embed a legal environmental commitment directly into an immigration document. Every visitor arriving in Palau must sign the “Palau Pledge” — a text written entirely in the Palauan language and stamped into their passport — committing to “travel with care, tread lightly, act kindly, and explore mindfully.” The Pledge is legally binding: visitors who violate its terms (by damaging coral, removing marine life, or breaking environmental regulations) can face prosecution under Palauan law. The initiative was designed by advertising agency Tiny Footprint and then-President Tommy Remengesau Jr. to transform every visitor’s passport from a mere entry document into a visible, personal covenant with the natural world. The model has since been studied by Pacific nations, tourism boards, and the UNWTO as a template for conservation-led tourism governance.
NZ parallel: New Zealand’s Tiaki Promise — a voluntary pledge for visitors to “care for New Zealand, for now and for future generations,” launched in 2018 by Tourism New Zealand partly inspired by the Palau model. Both nations pioneered the concept of environmental guardianship as an explicit part of the tourism relationship.
The Battle of Peleliu (Operation Stalemate II, 15 September – 27 November 1944) was one of the bloodiest and most disputed engagements of the Pacific Campaign of World War II. US Marine and Army forces suffered approximately 9,800 casualties (killed and wounded) in 73 days of fighting to capture the small island of Peleliu from 10,900 Japanese defenders who had implemented a new defensive doctrine — digging into an elaborate network of caves and tunnels in the Umurbrogol highlands (nicknamed “Bloody Nose Ridge” by Marines) and fighting from prepared positions designed to maximise US casualties. The battle was later assessed by some historians as strategically unnecessary. Today, Peleliu Island contains some of the best-preserved WWII battlefield archaeology in the Pacific: rusting Sherman tanks, aircraft, artillery pieces, and thousands of cave fortifications remain largely undisturbed in the jungle, alongside one of the world’s most poignant military cemeteries.
NZ parallel: New Zealand’s significant WWII Pacific engagement — New Zealand forces served in the Solomon Islands campaign (Guadalcanal, Bougainville) and New Zealand airmen flew Pacific operations. Both nations’ histories are shaped by the Pacific theatre, and both maintain strong commemorative traditions honouring those who served.
Modekngei is an indigenous Palauan syncretic religion that emerged in the early 20th century as a response to German colonial administration and Christian missionary activity. Founded around 1914, it blends traditional Palauan animist beliefs, ancestor veneration, and healing practices with some Christian elements, and was used partly as a vehicle for Palauan cultural resistance to colonial authority. Today, approximately 5% of Palauans identify as Modekngei followers. The religion emphasises the interconnectedness of living people, ancestors, and the natural world — a philosophical framework that aligns closely with Palau’s extraordinary modern commitment to ocean conservation. Palauan society is also organised through a matrilineal clan system where land and traditional titles pass through the female line, women hold significant social authority through the kebliil (clan system), and the highest traditional title, the Ibedul of Koror, is one of the most prestigious hereditary positions in the Pacific.
NZ parallel: Māori whakapapa (genealogy) and mana whenua (authority of the land) — both Palauan and Māori traditions encode identity, rights, and responsibility through ancestral lineage; both cultures recognise that the relationship between people and their natural environment is not economic but sacred.
100% online from Koror or anywhere. Approved within 72 hours. Valid 2 years with multiple entries.
Start NZeTA Application — Palau Passport© 2026 NZeTA - New Zealand Electronic Travel Authority. All Rights Reserved.