Pago Pago, AMERICAN SAMOA — New Zealand will begin welcoming Pacific visitors by making it easier to travel there with changes to immigration that will come into effect later this year.

Beginning July 6, 2025, people from Pacific Islands forum countries granted a Visitor Visa will be able to visit New Zealand multiple times within a 24-month period. This includes citizens of Samoa and Tonga, which are forum countries.

They will be able to stay in New Zealand for a total of up to 6 months in any 12-month period within that time (but no more than 9-months in an 18-month period).

They will still need to meet the requirements to be granted a Visitor Visa, and may be granted a shorter visa length if their passport is expiring soon, or there are other concerns.

Pacific Islands Forum country passport holders traveling to New Zealand from Australia (unless they are traveling on a transit visa) will also be able to travel visa-free as a trial for 12 months, beginning in November 2025.

From this time, anyone holding a passport from a Pacific Islands Forum country with a valid Australian visitor, work, student, or family visa, will be able to come to New Zealand from Australia with a New Zealand Electronic Travel Authority (NZeTA) for up to 3 months, rather than applying for a visa. This does not include people transiting through Australia.

Until then, people from a Pacific Islands Forum country will still need the appropriate visa to come to New Zealand.

More information will be available in the coming months.