New Zealand Replaces Paper Arrival Cards with Online Declaration

Travellers flying to New Zealand no longer need to complete a paper Passenger Arrival Card on the plane. The NZ government is now giving the option to complete a digital New Zealand Traveller Declaration (NZTD) instead of a paper form.

The NZTD was rolled out in Wellington, Christchurch and Queenstown last month. As of 22 August 2023, it’s now also available to passengers arriving in Auckland. All international airports in New Zealand can now process passengers with a NZTD.

If you choose to complete an online NZTD, you won’t need to fill out a paper arrival card on the plane and your arrival process into New Zealand might be more efficient. But paper forms will still be available on request for those who haven’t completed an online traveller declaration.

If you’re travelling to New Zealand within the next 24 hours, you can complete the NZTD either online or in the NZTD app. You can’t submit a NZTD more than 24 hours before the first flight on your ticket to New Zealand departs.

The New Zealand Traveller Declaration takes around 10 minutes to complete. The questions are similar to those on the current paper Passenger Arrival Card. They ask for information such as your passport details, contact details, travel history and what you’re bringing into New Zealand. (It’s a combined immigration and customs/biosecurity declaration.)

There is no requirement to complete a NZTD or Passenger Arrival Card if you’re only transiting through New Zealand – for example, on QF3 from Sydney to New York.

The New Zealand Traveller Declaration only replaces the Passenger Arrival Card. It’s not a substitute for the New Zealand Electronic Travel Authority (NZeTA), which travellers from many countries (excluding Australia) need to apply for.

Several other countries including Singapore have replaced their paper arrival forms with digital declarations in recent years. Australia also experimented with a Digital Passenger Declaration during the recent pandemic. The government scrapped this in July 2022 as it was riddled with bugs and caused frustration for many travellers.

Matt Graham

The editor of Australian Frequent Flyer, Matt's passion for travel has taken him to over 70 countries… with the help of frequent flyer points, of course!
Matt's favourite destinations (so far) are Germany, Brazil & Kazakhstan. His interests include economics, aviation & foreign languages, and he has a soft spot for good food and red wine.

You can connect with Matt by posting on the Australian Frequent Flyer community forum and tagging @AFF Editor.