© 2026 NZeTA - New Zealand Electronic Travel Authority. All Rights Reserved.
Republic of Seychelles · Indian Ocean → Aotearoa New Zealand
Seychelles is on New Zealand’s visa-waiver list. The NZeTA replaces the tourist visa entirely — no embassy, no appointment. Approved within 72 hours. Valid 2 years.
The Republic of Seychelles is an archipelago of 115 islands scattered across approximately 1.4 million km² of the western Indian Ocean, northeast of Madagascar and east of the African mainland. The total land area is approximately 451 km², and the population is approximately 98,000 — making Seychelles the smallest country in Africa by both area and population. The capital, Victoria, on the island of Mahé, is the smallest national capital in the world. Seychelles is exceptional in having the world’s only granitic islands located in the open ocean, far from any continental shelf — these ancient Precambrian granite rocks, 750 million years old, are scattered among coral atolls and reef islands to form one of the Indian Ocean’s most diverse archipelagos.
Seychelles was uninhabited until the 18th century and was settled successively by French and British colonists, with a population drawn from Africa, India, China, France, and Britain — creating the Seychellois Creole culture and language that defines the islands today. It became independent from Britain in 1976. The economy is built on tourism and fishing, with a per-capita income that consistently makes Seychelles the highest-income country in sub-Saharan Africa. Approximately 80% of land is under national park or nature reserve protection — an extraordinary conservation commitment for any nation.
Seychelles International Airport (SEZ) on Mahé is the sole international gateway. Air Seychelles operates the national carrier service; Emirates and other Gulf and African carriers also serve SEZ. There are no direct flights from Seychelles to New Zealand — all routes connect through Dubai or Singapore, with total journey times of approximately 22 to 26 hours.
All four items must be ready before opening the NZeTA application. All details must match your Seychelles passport exactly.
Must be biometric and valid for at least 3 months beyond your planned departure from New Zealand. The NZeTA is linked to your passport number — renewing before travel requires a new NZeTA application.
Passport-style photo taken within the last 6 months. Plain light background, no sunglasses, full face visible. Uploaded into the online form — no printed copy needed at any stage.
Your NZeTA approval is sent by email. Keep it accessible at check-in at SEZ and on arrival in New Zealand. The NZeTA is verified electronically — no printed document required at the border.
Credit or debit card to pay the NZeTA fee and the NZ government IVL levy together in one transaction. Non-refundable. SCR converts to NZD at your bank’s rate.
No embassy. No appointment. Apply from Mahé or anywhere at our NZeTA application page. Apply at least 3 days before your SEZ departure.
Full legal name, date of birth, Seychelles passport number, and expiry date — exactly as printed. Seychelles passports are issued in English and French; enter the name as it appears on the data page. A single error delays processing.
Upload your digital face photograph and truthfully answer all health and character declaration questions. Required by New Zealand immigration law — inaccurate answers may result in rejection. Declarations are in English and take approximately 3 to 5 minutes.
The NZeTA service fee and the New Zealand government IVL levy are collected together in one secure card transaction. Non-refundable. Instant confirmation is sent and your application enters processing immediately after payment.
Approved within 72 hours. Electronically linked to your Seychelles passport — no printing required. Check-in staff at SEZ and NZ border officers at AKL verify it automatically when you present your passport.
The NZeTA covers short-term visits only. See the tourist visa, business visa, and transit visa pages for activities requiring a separate visa.
Green underline = covered by NZeTA · Red underline = requires separate visa
All flights depart from Seychelles International Airport (SEZ) on Mahé. There are no direct flights to New Zealand. All routes require one or two connections. The unique upside: Seychelles’ connections pass through some of the world’s best airports and cities — each layover is a potential stopover destination.
Stopover tip: Seychelles routes to Auckland pass through Dubai, Singapore, or Melbourne — three destinations worth a deliberate stopover. Airlines often allow multi-day stop options with the same or similar fares. Consider extending your journey into a round-the-world trip: SEZ → DXB (Dubai stopover) → AKL (NZ) → MEL (Australia) → home.
SEZ → DXB (Emirates ~5.5 hrs) + DXB → AKL (Emirates ~17 hrs). Total approximately 24–26 hours.
Emirates operates the SEZ–DXB leg directly. Dubai has the world’s busiest international airport with excellent transit facilities and a 96-hour free transit visa available for extended stopovers.
~24–26 hrs · 1 stopSEZ → SIN (Singapore Airlines or Air Seychelles via DXB/MRU ~10 hrs) + SIN → AKL (Singapore Airlines ~10 hrs). Total approximately 22–25 hours.
Singapore Changi has consistently been ranked the world’s best airport. A Changi transit stopover (free 96-hr visa on arrival for many nationalities) is highly recommended for Seychelles travellers en route to New Zealand.
~22–25 hrs · 1–2 stopsSEZ → MRU (Air Seychelles or Air Mauritius ~2 hrs) + MRU → MEL/PER (Air Mauritius ~10 hrs) + MEL/PER → AKL (Air NZ ~3/6 hrs). Total approximately 22–26 hours.
Best option for travellers wishing to combine Mauritius (a 2-hour hop from Seychelles) and Australia with New Zealand in a single extended trip.
~22–26 hrs · 2 stopsSeychelles uses the Seychellois Rupee (SCR). New Zealand uses NZD. An open-jaw itinerary — arriving Auckland (AKL) and departing Christchurch (CHC) — covers both islands without backtracking.
Seychelles and New Zealand are two of the world’s most serious conservation nations — both have set aside extraordinary proportions of their territory for nature protection. Each Seychelles ecosystem has an unexpected New Zealand counterpart: different latitude, different species, same commitment.
Aldabra Atoll, 1,145 km southwest of Mahé, is the world’s largest raised coral atoll and one of the most pristine marine and terrestrial ecosystems remaining on Earth. It is home to approximately 100,000 giant Aldabra tortoises — more than anywhere else — as well as the world’s only flightless bird species outside New Zealand (the Aldabra rail). The entire atoll is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and a no-take marine reserve. Access is highly restricted: only scientific research expeditions visit.
NZ counterpart: New Zealand’s Snares Islands (Te Tangi a Karae) south of Stewart Island are similarly pristine, restricted-access islands where Snares penguins (Eudyptes robustus, found nowhere else) nest in their hundreds of thousands. Like Aldabra, the Snares are managed as nature reserves with no tourism access — their value is precisely their inaccessibility.
Vallée de Mai on Prasëin island is a primeval palm forest where the coco de mer — the world’s largest seed (up to 25 kg) and the source of one of the world’s most iconic natural objects — grows in its only natural habitat. The palm forest is ancient, barely changed since the time of the dinosaurs, and home to the Seychelles black parrot, found nowhere else on Earth. UNESCO inscribed it as a World Heritage Site in 1983. Walking through it feels genuinely prehistoric.
NZ counterpart: Waipoua Forest in Northland is New Zealand’s equivalent ancient forest — home to Tāne Mahuta, the world’s largest living kauri tree (over 2,000 years old, 51 metres tall). Both Vallée de Mai and Waipoua Forest are forests where the scale and age of the trees makes time itself feel different. Both are pilgrimage sites for people who understand forests.
The coral reefs surrounding the inner granitic islands of Seychelles — particularly those around Beau Vallon, Prasëin, and Silhouette — are among the Indian Ocean’s richest marine habitats, supporting over 1,000 species of fish, 250 species of coral, sea turtles, manta rays, whale sharks, and hammerhead sharks. Seychelles declared 30% of its exclusive economic zone as a marine protected area in 2020 — one of the world’s most ambitious ocean conservation commitments by a small island state.
NZ counterpart: New Zealand’s Poor Knights Islands Marine Reserve off the Northland coast is one of the world’s top ten dive sites according to Jacques Cousteau — subtropical currents meeting temperate water create exceptional biodiversity, including the world’s largest sea caves and schools of fish in numbers rarely seen elsewhere. Both Seychelles and Poor Knights demonstrate that marine protection produces ecological density that makes diving an entirely different experience.
Mahé’s interior is dominated by Morne Seychellois National Park, which covers 20% of the island’s area. The park’s highest point, Morne Seychellois at 905 metres, is frequently cloud-wrapped — a misty highland forest above a tropical island. The forest harbours endemic species including the Seychelles warbler, Seychelles white-eye, and the pitcher plant (Nepenthes pervillei). Trails through the highland forest feel closer to the Scottish Highlands than to the tropical beach resorts at sea level — the altitude creates an entirely different ecosystem within a few kilometres of the beach.
NZ counterpart: The Fiordland cloud forests of New Zealand’s South Island — particularly those along the Milford Track and around Doubtful Sound — share the same character of dense temperate rainforest perpetually in mist, endemic to their mountain range, and harbouring species found nowhere else. Both Mahé’s highlands and Fiordland are places where the altitude transforms the entire ecological experience within a short vertical distance.
100% online from Mahé or anywhere. Approved within 72 hours. Valid 2 years with multiple entries.
Start NZeTA Application — Seychelles Passport© 2026 NZeTA - New Zealand Electronic Travel Authority. All Rights Reserved.