VisaNew Zealand suspends visa-free air travel on Kuwaiti passports
Travellers who previously relied on Kuwait’s visa waiver now need an appropriate visa before flying to New Zealand. Existing visas remain valid under their conditions.
Official source date: 2026-11-12
Last verified against linked sources:
Edited and checked by the VisaWand editorial team
Work out whether the suspension affects your journey
People flying to New Zealand on a Kuwaiti passport who previously travelled under the nationality-based visa waiver now need an appropriate visa before departure. Immigration New Zealand says the suspension began at 11:59 p.m. New Zealand daylight time on 12 November 2026 and is scheduled to run until the same local time on 11 February 2027. A New Zealand Electronic Travel Authority already held on that basis cannot be used for the journey. The agency says it is contacting affected electronic travel authority holders.
A visa that has already been granted is separate from an electronic travel authority. The announcement says the suspension leaves existing visas in place. Holders already in New Zealand can stay until expiry if they meet their visa conditions. A visa holder who plans to return from abroad should read the entry conditions on the grant before making that trip. The government says it will announce any decision about extending the suspension before the scheduled end.
Read the November instructions alongside older waiver lists
The Operational Manual version dated February 2025 still names Kuwait in its general list of countries. Immigration New Zealand’s November Amendment Circular 2026-35 updates that instruction and marks the Kuwait entry as suspended. The circular records that the Minister made the special direction on 4 November and gives the date from which officers must apply the change. Use the circular and the current public visa-waiver list when checking advice that predates the suspension.
The circular retains other categories of waiver, including Australian permanent residence and resident return visa holders. This guide concerns passengers whose former basis for waiver travel was their Kuwaiti passport. If a passenger has a separate immigration status, such as Australian permanent residence, check the specific requirements for travelling on that basis before buying a ticket. The documents and any electronic authority needed should match the status and passport the passenger plans to present.
Prepare evidence and submit the appropriate application
For holidays or family visits, start with the Visitor Visa page. It provides the online application link and lists a starting cost of NZD 441. Check the amount shown for your filing circumstances when applying. Use the visa that matches the purpose of the trip, especially if the main reason for travel is local employment or study. The Visitor Visa page also explains how partners and dependent children can be included in a family visit application.
The Visitor Visa guide lists funds of NZD 1,000 per person per month for visitors without a sponsor, or NZD 400 each when accommodation has already been paid. Bank or credit card statements can help document those funds and prepaid accommodation evidence supports use of the lower amount. The same guide calls for onward travel evidence, such as a confirmed booking to a country the visitor can enter. For a family application, check the amounts for everyone included and provide the required English translations for supporting evidence. Follow the online checklist for identity and passport uploads.
Allow time for a decision and know when to request urgent allocation
Use the visitor processing dashboard to plan, allowing time to assemble the evidence and respond to a request for further information. At verification it showed two weeks for 80 per cent of ordinary Visitor Visa cases processed over the preceding four weeks. That statistic is a recent result for the visa category as a whole. The public dashboard provides no Kuwait-specific figure or individual decision date. The Visitor Visa page recommends waiting for approval before making non-refundable bookings.
For a compelling reason to travel urgently, the escalation guidance directs visitor applicants from outside the Pacific to call the Immigration Call Centre. Have the application details and evidence of the circumstances ready. A booking on its own is insufficient, and the agency usually cannot accept requests for cases submitted less than five days earlier. A successful escalation request moves a pending case forward for assignment to an officer. The application must still be assessed on its merits before the traveller can rely on a visa.
