Official source Checked 10 September 2026 EU or national government source. Source

There is no published start date, and no page here states one except the launch status tracker.

You already know the hard part

The concept most travellers struggle with in Europe is that the stay limit is not per visit and does not reset when you leave. New Zealand applies a rule of exactly that shape to its own visitors: presence is capped inside a moving window, counted backwards from the date you intend to depart.

So the European rule needs no new machinery, only new numbers. The limit is 90 days in any 180 day period, counted across every participating country together rather than country by country. If you have ever explained the New Zealand rule to a visiting relative, you already know how to count this one. Worked examples are on the 90 in 180 day rule.

ETIAS and the NZeTA, side by side

Point of comparisonETIAS, for New Zealanders visiting EuropeNZeTA, for visitors to New Zealand
Cost EUR 20, a single stated fee. From NZD 17, published as a floor rather than a flat price.
How long it lasts, and what it permits Three years, or until the travel document used in the application expires, whichever comes first. Two years for travellers, allowing stays of up to three months at a time, or six months for United Kingdom citizens.
How the stay is limited 90 days in any 180 day period, pooled across all the countries. Per visit, with a separate cap on total presence in any twelve month period.
Who runs it The European Union, for 30 countries at once. Immigration New Zealand, for one country.

Official source Checked 10 September 2026 EU or national government source. Source

One difference worth noticing: the NZeTA gives United Kingdom passport holders longer visits than everyone else, a legacy of an older relationship. ETIAS has no equivalent gradation. Every nationality inside it gets the same authorisation on the same terms, which makes it simpler to reason about and removes a class of question New Zealanders are used to asking.

The extended trip, and where the days go

A long European trip is close to a New Zealand institution, and it is the thing the stay limit constrains. Days in Ireland and the United Kingdom do not count against the European allowance, because neither country is inside the area. That makes them genuinely useful as a break in a long itinerary. What they do not do is reset the count: your earlier days remain inside the moving window until enough time has passed for them to drop out of it.

The reason precision now matters is the Entry/Exit System, operating since 10 April 2026, which records every entry and exit digitally instead of stamping a passport. There is no cost to it: There is no cost for EES registration. It is described in full on what the EES is.

Working holidays, which this is not

New Zealand holds bilateral working holiday arrangements with a number of European countries. Those are national visas issued by one country, they permit work, and they run for a year or more. An authorisation covers short visits for tourism, business and transit, and permits no work at all. Travelling on a working holiday visa means that visa governs the stay.

We do not list which countries run those arrangements or on what terms. Each is a different government's scheme on a different timetable, and the consulate concerned is the source that is answerable for it.

Your passport

Your travel document should not expire in less than three months and it should not be older than 10 years.

Official source Checked 10 September 2026 EU or national government source. Source

The second condition catches people whose passport is still in date. It tests the age of the document, not how much time is left on it, so the thing to look at is the issue date. Since an authorisation will be tied to the passport it is issued against, a renewal ends it early in any case, and renewing first is the cheaper order.

Common questions

Does holding an NZeTA mean anything in Europe?

Nothing at all. They are separate systems run by different governments, with no recognition between them in either direction. The only thing they share is a design.

I hold Irish citizenship through a grandparent. What then?

If you hold the Irish passport, you travel on it and none of this applies: free movement is a different legal basis and the stay limit does not reach it. If you are merely entitled to claim it, the entitlement does nothing at a border.

Will I need one for a stopover in Europe on the way to somewhere else?

It turns on whether you cross the border rather than whether you land. Staying inside the international transit area is not entering; leaving it generally is. Your airline can answer for your specific routing, since airlines are the party that will verify authorisations at boarding.

Guides for other nationalities

Each of these covers the same requirement from a different starting point, because the comparison that makes it clear is different in each country.

Nationalities without a guide are listed in the data table on countries and territories. We would rather list a country once, accurately, than write a thin page about it.

Last verified 10 September 2026. How we verify