Do I need to book return Flight for Visiting New Zealand on a visitor Visa?

[Gurpreet Kaur]

My mom received visitor visa to New Zealand from India. The Visa is for 6 months and we might be able to renew it before expiry. Do I need to book a return flight ticket to avoid any confusions at the New Zealand immigration? She is travelling for the first time and don’t speak English.

[Karthik]

You must keep a return ticket if you are on a visitor visa to New Zealand. My wife went to check in at Cochin International Airport without a return ticket. She was on Singapore airlines and the front staff asked to show the return ticket. She tried explaining that she will move to a work visa soon as she is going to stay with her husband (me). The staff still asked to show the return ticket. I soon book a return ticket and then only she was able to board the flight. The funny thing was that, the Immigration officer in New Zealand (Christchurch) don’t ask for a return ticket proof.

[Akhil]

I have asked for a return ticket when I went on a visitor visa to NZ for the first time. That’s too from CIAL airport, Kerala. Some of my friends who boarded from a different Airport in India was not asked for a return flight ticket. Second time, I boarded from CIAL on my One year Work Visa, they don’t ask for a return ticket proof. No questions asked by Immigration officers during clearance.

Tip: You can book a flight using Air New Zealand. Once you reach NZ, cancel the ticket and you will get 100% refund. If you book through some of the India based ticket booking platforms, they will charge you a cancellation fee.

[Author]

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