BREAKING: Visa changes set to boost tourism and hospitality
It’s hoped the move will boost NZ visitor numbers from non-English speaking countries by removing administrative and cost barriers.
By Naomii Seah, AccomNews writer at TRENZ 2025
From May 26, overseas visa applicants from non-English speaking countries will no longer need to have their translations certified. It’s hoped this move will boost markets such as China and India, which have seen slower recovery than expected post-COVID.
Applicants will still be required to provide a translation, but a certification won’t be required. They must still declare who provided the translation and their credentials. This change brings our translation requirements in line with Australia.
Louise Upston, Minister for Tourism and Hospitality, announced the change this week at TRENZ 2025, alongside Minister for Immigration Erica Stanford, who was not present.
Ms Upston said that the change was based on strong feedback from the tourism industry, and it “reinforces our commitment to visitors to make travel easy and seamless.”
Rebecca Ingram, Chief Executive of Tourism Industry Aotearoa, called the change to our visa settings “excellent news.
“I’m sure the news will resonate with our delegates here on the floor [at TRENZ], especially our 67 buyers here from greater China.”
Targeting key markets
The announcement is aimed at stimulating key markets like China and India.
China, one of our key international visitor markets, has seen slower recovery than other key markets such as North America.
Despite a boost to visitor-levels around Chinese New Year, Chinese visitors are only at 60 percent of pre-pandemic levels. In 2019, Chinese visitors were contributing over $1.7 billion to the local economy.
René de Monchy, Chief Executive of Tourism New Zealand, said this slow recovery was partly due to factors such as a slower economy and changing travel patterns.
The announcement also follows the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed between Air New Zealand and Air India in March, which will see the airlines code-sharing to improve traveller choice and access between the two countries.
Tourism New Zealand shows 18 million people in India are actively considering travel to New Zealand. Over 80,000 travellers visited from India last year, up 23 percent from 2019.
India is currently our largest visitor market without a direct flight operating between the destinations. It is pegged as one of our fastest growing travel markets. The MoU specifies a direct service is expected to be established by the end of 2028.
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