© 2026 NZeTA - New Zealand Electronic Travel Authority. All Rights Reserved.
Solomon Islands → Aotearoa New Zealand
The Solomon Islands is on New Zealand’s visa-waiver list. Apply online from Honiara, no embassy required. Approved within 72 hours, valid 2 years with multiple entries.
The Solomon Islands is a sovereign Pacific archipelago nation comprising approximately 992 islands stretching across approximately 1,500 km of the southwestern Pacific Ocean, northeast of Australia and northwest of Vanuatu. With a population of approximately 750,000 and a land area of 28,400 km², the Solomon Islands is a predominantly Melanesian nation divided into nine provinces and the Honiara Capital Territory. The population speaks approximately 70–80 distinct indigenous languages alongside Solomons Pijin (the primary lingua franca) and English (official language). The capital Honiara is located on Guadalcanal island, which served as the site of one of the most significant battles of the Second World War’s Pacific campaign.
The Solomon Islands holds some of the Pacific’s most significant WWII heritage. The waters around Guadalcanal — nicknamed “Iron Bottom Sound” by Allied sailors for the extraordinary number of warships sunk there (approximately 50 vessels) — witnessed the Guadalcanal Campaign of August 1942 to February 1943, which was the first major Allied land offensive against Japan in the Pacific and a turning point in the war. Today, Iron Bottom Sound is one of the world’s richest wreck-diving sites. The Solomon Islands is also celebrated for its extraordinary marine biodiversity: its waters lie within the Coral Triangle and host over 900 species of fish, 490 species of coral, and the world’s highest recorded marine species diversity per unit area.
New Zealand maintains close Pacific community, security, and development ties with the Solomon Islands through the Pacific Reset policy and the RAMSI mission (2003–2017). Solomon Islands citizens use the Solomon Islands Dollar (SBD) and are on New Zealand’s visa-waiver list, requiring an approved NZeTA before travel.
Four documents required to complete the NZeTA application online from Honiara or anywhere in the Solomon Islands.
Your Solomon Islands passport must be biometric and valid for at least 3 months beyond your planned departure from New Zealand. The passport number entered in the NZeTA application must exactly match your physical document. If you renew or replace your passport after NZeTA approval, you must submit a new application. Apply for your passport through the Immigration and Passport Division well ahead of travel.
A clear digital photograph taken against a plain white or light-coloured background within the past 6 months. Full face 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 cause of NZeTA processing delays and requires resubmission before assessment can proceed.
An active email address to receive the NZeTA approval notification and reference number. The NZeTA is entirely electronic — no physical stamp or document is issued. Airlines verify it using your passport number against the Immigration New Zealand database at check-in. Internet connectivity in Honiara is available — apply well ahead of your planned travel date.
A credit or debit card to pay the NZeTA service fee and the mandatory New Zealand International Visitor Levy (IVL) in a single secure online transaction. Solomon Islands uses the Solomon Islands Dollar (SBD), but major international Visa and Mastercard denominated in SBD or other currencies are accepted for NZeTA payment.
Four steps to complete your NZeTA application entirely online from Honiara or anywhere.
Enter your full name exactly as printed on your Solomon Islands passport, passport number and expiry date, date of birth, and intended travel dates to New Zealand. All information must precisely match your physical travel document. Double-check all details before proceeding to the photograph upload stage.
Upload a clear digital face photograph meeting New Zealand's biometric standards: plain white or light background, full face visible, eyes open and looking at the camera, no glasses or hat, taken within the past 6 months. Photo non-compliance is the leading cause of processing delays for Pacific island applicants. Resubmission is required for non-compliant images.
Review all entered details carefully. Pay the NZeTA service fee and the mandatory New Zealand International Visitor Levy (IVL) together in a single secure online transaction. International Visa and Mastercard accepted. Application is submitted automatically on payment confirmation. No modifications are possible after submission.
NZeTA approval arrives by email, typically within 72 hours. No physical document required — the NZeTA is electronically linked to your Solomon Islands passport number. Present your passport at check-in at Honiara International Airport (HIR) and at Auckland border control. Valid 2 years, multiple entries, up to 90 days per stay.
Activities permitted and not permitted under the NZeTA for Solomon Islands passport holders.
No additional visa required for these activities
Apply through Immigration New Zealand before travelling
No direct flights from Solomon Islands to New Zealand. Solomon Airlines and Fiji Airways connect Honiara through Australia and Fiji. Book early as capacity from HIR is limited.
Solomon Airlines operates HIR–BNE service. Brisbane offers multiple daily connections to Auckland.
Fiji Airways connects Nadi to Auckland. Good option for shorter total journey time on select days.
Check Solomon Airlines current schedules as HIR–SYD frequency varies. Allow 3–4 hours connection at SYD.
Four defining dimensions of Solomon Islands history, environment, and culture alongside Aotearoa New Zealand.
The Guadalcanal Campaign (7 August 1942 – 9 February 1943) was the first major offensive Allied operation of the Pacific War and the first Japanese land defeat. US Marines landed on Guadalcanal and seized the partially completed Japanese airfield — renamed Henderson Field — which then became the focus of six months of intense land, sea, and air combat. The naval battles in the surrounding waters were so ferocious that 50 warships were sunk — both Allied and Japanese — creating a graveyard now called Iron Bottom Sound. Today Iron Bottom Sound is a UNESCO-designated war memorial and one of the world’s most significant WWII wreck-diving sites. The USS Guadalcanal and HMAS Canberra are among the major wrecks accessible to divers in these waters. On land, the Mataniko River, Bloody Ridge, and Henderson Field remain accessible as pilgrimage sites for veterans’ families and historians.
NZ parallel: New Zealand’s 3rd and 14th Infantry Brigades served in the Pacific, and New Zealand’s P-40 Kittyhawk pilots flew air defence missions over Guadalcanal from Henderson Field. The Solomon Islands and New Zealand share a WWII heritage that makes Guadalcanal a site of specific NZ historical significance.
The Solomon Islands sits within the Coral Triangle — a 6 million km² region of the western Pacific spanning Indonesia, Malaysia, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Solomon Islands, and Timor-Leste — which contains the highest marine biodiversity recorded anywhere on Earth. Solomon Islands waters host over 900 species of reef fish, 490 species of coral (compared to ~68 in the Caribbean), 6 of the world’s 7 marine turtle species, and some of the healthiest remaining coral reef systems in the Pacific. The Marovo Lagoon in the Western Province — the world’s largest saltwater lagoon at approximately 700 km² — is a UNESCO-nominated site containing extraordinary double barrier reef systems, deep-sea passages, and high endemism. The Solomon Islands is considered one of the last “frontier” diving destinations in the Pacific for wreck diving, reef diving, and pelagic species encounters.
NZ parallel: New Zealand’s Poor Knights Islands Marine Reserve — one of the top 10 dive sites globally according to Jacques Cousteau — shares with Solomon Islands waters a quality of marine biodiversity that places both nations among the Pacific’s greatest diving destinations, albeit from very different marine biomes (temperate vs. tropical).
The Solomon Islands maintains one of the Pacific’s most active traditional economies through tafuliae (shell money) — strings of small red and white shell discs ground from shell by hand in Malaita Province and used as currency in bride price negotiations, ceremonial exchanges, and community transactions. Tafuliae production is entirely handmade — each disc is cut, drilled, and polished using traditional stone tools — and the craft requires years to learn. Malaita Province produces most of the Solomon Islands’ tafuliae and the tradition has continued without interruption through colonial rule and independence. Alongside shell money, the Marovo Lagoon people of Western Province are world-renowned for their traditional woodcarving — producing dolphins, sharks, and ancestral figures in ebony and rosewood with extraordinary precision, using no metal tools in the finest traditional work. Both art forms are active economic and cultural institutions, not museum exhibits.
NZ parallel: Māori greenstone (pounamu) carving — like Solomon Islands woodcarving, New Zealand’s pounamu tradition produces objects (hei tiki, koru pendants, mere weapons) that carry genealogical meaning and are exchanged as relationship-defining gifts, bridging economic and spiritual worlds.
From 1998 to 2003, the Solomon Islands experienced a period of ethnic tension (The Tensions) between militants from Guadalcanal and Malaita that led to state collapse, economic paralysis, and a humanitarian crisis. In 2003, at Solomon Islands’ government request, the Regional Assistance Mission to Solomon Islands (RAMSI) was deployed — a multilateral Pacific Islands Forum mission led by Australia and including New Zealand, Fiji, Papua New Guinea, and other Pacific nations, providing police, military, and civilian advisors. RAMSI operated for 14 years (2003–2017) and is considered the Pacific’s most successful regional stabilisation mission. New Zealand contributed police officers, soldiers, and civilian advisors throughout the 14-year mission, making RAMSI a defining moment in New Zealand’s Pacific engagement. The mission is studied in international relations as a model for collective regional security action by small states.
NZ parallel: New Zealand’s Pacific Reset foreign policy — RAMSI demonstrated that NZ’s Pacific commitments go beyond development aid to include genuine security partnership. The post-RAMSI relationship between Solomon Islands and New Zealand is one of the Pacific region’s most substantive bilateral partnerships.
100% online from Honiara or anywhere. Approved within 72 hours. Valid 2 years with multiple entries.
Start NZeTA Application — Solomon Islands Passport© 2026 NZeTA - New Zealand Electronic Travel Authority. All Rights Reserved.