New Zealand
VariesASIA-PACIFIC
Felon entry rules
- VISA
- NZeTA REQUIRED — U.S. citizens must apply for a NZeTA (Electronic Travel Authority) or visitor visa.
- Immigration Act 2009, s.15: MANDATORY BAR for any person who has at any time been sentenced to imprisonment for 5 years or more.
- MANDATORY BAR for any person who in the past 10 years has been sentenced to imprisonment for 12 months or more.
- These are absolute bars — no discretionary waiver for tourist entry purposes.
- NZeTA requires disclosure of criminal history. Good character requirement applies.
- Rehabilitation or time elapsed beyond the 10-year window does not guarantee admission — character test still applies.
Registered person entry rules
- Sex offences against minors resulting in 12+ month sentences trigger mandatory bar under s.15.
- Good character assessment under s.15(2) applies to all applicants.
- New Zealand has its own Child Sex Offender Register (Child Sex Offender (Management of Sex Offenders) Act 2014).
- Passport identifier will be seen during NZeTA processing.
- IML notifications transmitted. New Zealand is known to deny entry based on RSO status.
- High denial risk for RSOs with qualifying convictions.
IML notice
21-day advance notice applies for covered registered persons.
Yes — 21-day advance notice required for covered registered persons (sex offenses against minors). U.S. law obligation; CBP/Angel Watch Center notifies destination country.
Full access adds direct links to the official statute and law text cited above, plus attribute filtering and side-by-side country comparison.
Get full access