Will a damaged passport affect my NZeTA?

Yes. Your passport must not be damaged, reported lost or stolen, or invalidated by the issuing government. Water damage, a detached or torn biodata page, or an unreadable machine-readable strip can all lead to you being refused boarding or entry, even with an approved NZeTA. Replace a damaged passport before you travel and update your NZeTA with the new number.

New Zealand eTA Passport Requirements | NZeTA Passport Validity Rules

Your NZeTA Lives Inside One Specific Passport

A New Zealand Electronic Travel Authority is not a document you carry — it is an electronic record attached to the passport number you entered when you applied. Airlines check that link before they let you board. Get the passport wrong, let it run short of validity, or replace it without updating your NZeTA, and an approved authority stops working. This page covers every passport rule that applies, and what to do when your passport changes.

Apply for Your NZeTA

Validity Needed

3 Months After Departure

Passports per NZeTA

Exactly One

NZeTA Valid

2 Years · Multi-entry

Passport Renewed

Update 10+ Days Ahead

Per Traveller

Own Passport & NZeTA

NZeTA Passport Requirements in Full

Every row below has to be satisfied. Most refused boardings involve the first three.

Requirement	What Is Required	Why It Matters
Validity period	Your passport must not expire until at least 3 months after the date you plan to leave New Zealand.	Measured from your departure date, not your arrival date — a short passport is the most common reason a trip is stopped at check-in.
Eligible passport	A passport from a New Zealand visa waiver country or territory, of the type that country's waiver covers.	Some waivers apply only to certain passport types or to holders with permanent residence rights.
Same passport for travel	You must request the NZeTA with the passport you will actually travel on.	The authority is held against that passport number. A different passport at check-in reads as no NZeTA at all.
Matching details	Name, date of birth, nationality, passport number and issuing state must match the passport biodata page exactly.	Immigration New Zealand states that your NZeTA details must always match the passport you use to travel.
Good condition	Not damaged, not reported lost or stolen, and not invalidated by the government that issued it.	A torn biodata page or unreadable machine-readable strip can end the journey even with an approved NZeTA.
Readable biodata page	The photo, printed details and machine-readable lines at the foot of the page must be clear and unaltered.	Border eGates read that strip. Wear, ink transfer or handwriting on the page causes manual processing or refusal.
One passport per traveller	Every traveller needs their own passport and their own NZeTA, including infants.	There is no family or group NZeTA, and a child listed in a parent's passport is not covered by the parent's authority.
Supporting photo	A separate face photograph that meets the NZeTA photo standard — see our photo requirements guide.	The photo is compared against your passport image, so an out-of-date picture triggers an identity check.

The 3-Month Rule, Measured Correctly

New Zealand's requirement is that your passport is still valid three months after the date you leave the country. Travellers routinely measure this from the wrong date and arrive at the airport short.

Your Trip	Passport Must Be Valid Until	Result
Arrive 10 March, leave New Zealand 5 April	At least 5 July	Passport expiring 20 August — fine
Arrive 10 March, leave New Zealand 5 April	At least 5 July	Passport expiring 1 June — not accepted
Arrive 1 December, leave New Zealand 20 February	At least 20 May	Passport expiring 10 March — not accepted, despite being valid for the whole stay

There Is No Separate 6-Month Rule for the UK — or Anyone Else

You will see claims that British citizens need six months of validity for New Zealand. That is not New Zealand's requirement: the three-month rule applies to every nationality equally. A six-month rule is common elsewhere in the world, though, and it may well apply to a stopover on your route — Singapore, Dubai, Bangkok and Los Angeles all have their own rules. Check every country your ticket touches, not just the destination. If you permanently reside in New Zealand on a resident visa, your travel document only needs to be valid for the journey itself.

Enter Your Passport Details Exactly as Printed

Your NZeTA is matched to your passport by machine. Small transcription errors that a human would forgive will fail that match, so copy the biodata page character by character rather than typing from memory.

Names: Enter every given name shown, in the order shown. If your passport prints two given names, both belong in the application.
Hyphens and apostrophes: Keep them. "O'Brien" and "Anne-Marie" are not the same as "OBrien" and "Anne Marie".
Accents: Use the machine-readable lines at the bottom of the page as your guide — they show how the issuing authority renders characters such as ä, ø or ç.
Family name field: Some passports print the surname first. Put the surname in the family name field regardless of where it appears.

Passport number: Copy every character including leading letters and zeros. Zero and the letter O, and one and the letter I, are the classic mix-ups.
Date of birth: Watch the day/month order — many passports print the month as three letters precisely to avoid this confusion.
Issuing state: This is the country that issued the passport, which is not always the country you live in or were born in.
Expiry date: Check it against the three-month rule before you pay, not after.

Our team reviews these fields against the passport details you supply and queries obvious mismatches before your application is forwarded — but we cannot see your physical passport, so the final check is yours.

If You Renew or Replace Your Passport

An NZeTA is valid for two years, so it is common for a passport to be renewed while the authority is still live. When that happens the electronic link to the old passport number is no longer useful, and you must act before travelling.

A Change Request Is Enough

Immigration New Zealand lets you update an existing NZeTA when the change is administrative:

The passport number of a renewed or replacement passport
A misspelled or incomplete name
An incomplete passport number

Submit the change at least 10 days before you travel so it can be processed in time.

You Need a Brand New NZeTA

Some changes are treated as significant and cannot be amended on an existing authority:

A change of nationality or passport issuing state
A correction to your date of birth
Any change to your declaration answers

In these cases, submit a new NZeTA request and allow the usual 72 hours.

Naturalised in a new country and holding a new passport? That is a change of nationality and issuing state — a fresh NZeTA, not an update.

Passport Type and Residence Conditions

For several countries the visa waiver depends on the type of passport you hold or on having permanent residence rights — not simply on the country named on the cover.

Country or Territory	Condition That Applies
United Kingdom	Covers British citizens, and other British passport holders who hold the right to reside permanently in the UK. Other classes of British passport are not automatically covered.
Hong Kong	Residents travelling on a Hong Kong SAR passport or a British National (Overseas) passport.
Macau	Residents travelling on a Macau Special Administrative Region passport.
Taiwan	Permanent residents travelling on a Taiwan passport.
Portugal	Passport holders who hold the right to live permanently in Portugal.
Greece	Passports issued on or after 1 January 2006.
Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania	Citizens only — non-citizen passports issued by these countries are not covered.
Australia	Australian citizens and permanent residents travelling on an Australian passport need neither a visa nor an NZeTA.

Check the conditions for your own nationality on our NZeTA information page before applying.

Dual Nationals, Children and Unusual Documents

Dual Nationals

Apply with the passport from a visa waiver country, then travel on that same passport from check-in to the border. If both passports qualify, choose one and be consistent — the airline books you, checks you in and reports you to New Zealand against a single document. Carrying your second passport is fine; presenting it instead is what breaks the link.

Children and Babies

Every child needs their own passport and their own NZeTA, from newborns upwards, and each application uses that child's own passport details. Children's passports are often issued for shorter periods, so check the expiry against the three-month rule — a child's passport expiring sooner than a parent's is a frequent surprise at the airport.

Emergency and Temporary Documents

Emergency passports, temporary passports and certificates of identity are not always accepted for an NZeTA, and the answer depends on the document and the issuing country. Confirm with Immigration New Zealand or your airline before booking, and allow time to apply for a visitor visa instead if the document does not qualify.

Cruise Passengers and Crew

Cruise passengers need an NZeTA whatever their nationality, and the same passport rules apply — including the three-month validity measured from the day the ship leaves New Zealand waters. See our cruise ship NZeTA guide.

Damaged, Lost or Stolen Passports

A passport that has been reported lost or stolen is cancelled on international databases the moment the report is filed — including one you later find at the back of a drawer. If you reported it, you cannot travel on it, and any NZeTA attached to it is effectively dead.

Replace first, update second. Get the new passport, then submit a change request with the new number at least 10 days before departure.
Treat water damage seriously. A rippled biodata page or a smudged machine-readable strip is enough for an airline to refuse carriage.
Never write in your passport. Handwritten notes or amendments can render it invalid.
Check a loose cover or stitching. A detached page is treated as tampering, not wear and tear.
Keep a copy. Photograph the biodata page and store it separately — it speeds up an emergency replacement abroad.

Supplying Your Passport Details and Scan

On our NZeTA application form you enter your passport details and upload a face photograph. If you also supply an image of your passport page, quality matters as much as it does for the photo:

Lay the passport flat on a plain, light surface in even daylight — not under a ceiling light, which reflects off the laminate.
Photograph straight down, with the whole biodata page and both machine-readable lines inside the frame.
Turn the flash off. Glare across the laminate hides exactly the characters that need to be read.
Send the original file rather than a screenshot or a copy re-sent through a messaging app, which compresses it.
Check the passport number, name and expiry are legible in the image before you upload it.

After submitting you can follow progress with our NZeTA status checker. Most applications are approved within 72 hours.

Passport Checklist Before You Apply

Issued by a visa waiver country, of an eligible type
Valid until at least 3 months after you leave New Zealand
The same passport you will actually travel on
Not damaged, lost, stolen or cancelled
Biodata page and machine-readable lines clearly legible

Names entered exactly as printed, including middle names
Passport number copied character by character
Date of birth and issuing state checked
A separate application for every traveller
Existing NZeTA updated if the passport has changed

Frequently Asked Questions

How long must my passport be valid for a New Zealand eTA?

Your passport must not expire until at least 3 months after the date you plan to leave New Zealand — not 3 months from the date you arrive, and not 3 months from the date you apply. If you permanently reside in New Zealand on a resident visa, your travel document only needs to be valid for the journey to New Zealand.

Do UK citizens need 6 months of passport validity for New Zealand?

No. New Zealand applies the same rule to every traveller: the passport must be valid for 3 months beyond your planned departure from New Zealand. A 6-month rule is common in other countries and may apply to a stopover on your route, so check every country on your itinerary — but New Zealand itself requires 3 months.

What happens to my NZeTA if I renew my passport?

Your NZeTA is linked electronically to the passport used in the request, so a new passport breaks that link. If your NZeTA is still valid you can submit a change request to update the passport number, and Immigration New Zealand asks that you do this at least 10 days before you travel. Changes to your nationality, passport issuing state, date of birth or declaration answers cannot be amended and require a new NZeTA request.

Do my passport details have to match my NZeTA exactly?

Yes. The details in your NZeTA must always match the details in the passport you use to travel to New Zealand. Names must be entered exactly as printed on the biodata page, including middle names, hyphens and accents, and the passport number must be complete and correct. A mismatch can stop you boarding, because airlines check the NZeTA against the passport before departure.

I have two passports — which one should I use?

Use the passport from a New Zealand visa waiver country, and then travel on that same passport. If both of your passports are from visa waiver countries, pick one and use it consistently for the NZeTA request, the airline booking and check-in. Carrying both passports is fine; presenting a different one from the one linked to your NZeTA is what causes problems.

Do children and babies need their own passport and NZeTA?

Yes. Every traveller needs their own passport and their own NZeTA, from newborns upwards. There is no family or group NZeTA, and a child included on a parent's passport is not covered by that parent's authority. Check children's passport expiry dates carefully — they are often issued for shorter periods than adult passports.

Can I use an emergency or temporary passport?

Emergency and temporary travel documents are not always accepted for an NZeTA, and the rules depend on the document and the issuing country. If you are travelling on anything other than a standard full-validity passport, confirm with Immigration New Zealand or your airline before you book, and allow extra time in case you need to apply for a visitor visa instead.

How many blank pages does my passport need?

New Zealand does not publish a blank-page requirement for NZeTA travellers, and the NZeTA is electronic — nothing is stamped into your passport when you request it. Other countries on your route may have their own blank-page rules, so check each stopover if your passport is nearly full. If you are unsure, contact our support team.

Related Guides

NZeTA Photo Requirements

Application Form Guide

NZeTA Information & Eligibility

Apply for Your NZeTA Online