Immigrationboards.com - Archive

As a US citizen, you need a visa to travel to New Zealand. You can get a tourist visa, valid for up to three months, rather easily (i.e. at the airport or your travel agent can arrange this when you buy your ticket).

As a US citizen, you are not eligible to apply for a Working Holiday Visa for NZ or Australia. In order to be allowed to work in either country, you would require a job offer and employer sponsorship, and then you could apply for the work visa while you are in OZ or NZ. As a full-time student in either country, you could work part-time.

Regarding quarantine issues, I would refer you to www.aqis.gov.au or www.customs.gov.au for Australia and here is some info on NZ:

New Zealand's isolated position from the rest of the world has meant that so far it has been able to remain free of many of the diseases that affect wildlife and livestock in other parts of the world.

That's the way the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, which is responsible for screening animals coming into the country, wants to keep it and there are relatively strict controls over the importation of animals including domestic pets.

New Zealand has learnt from the big environmental mistakes in the past. Some of New Zealand's biggest pests are the end result of deliberate introduction - the most notable is the possum which were introduced in the 1830s. There are now estimated to be about 70-million throughout this country's native forests and they are regarded as New Zealand's biggest environmental problem.

However, the importation of diseases is something that is also very important and why we have quarantine rules, especially for cats and dogs.

Topping the dangerous diseases list is rabies.

New Zealand has never had a case of rabies. The current quarantine requirements are designed to ensure that we remain rabies-free. It is the status of rabies in the country of origin that determines whether a dog or cat can be imported directly into this country and if so how much quarantine is required.

There are also a number of other diseases that do not exist in this country such as canine heart worm as well as diseases that can be passed to humans such as leptospirosis, brucellosis, and ehrlichia. These diseases are also tested for before the dog or cat arrives or leaves quarantine.

Quarantine requirements and health tests for importing animals are under constant review and subject to change at any time so it pays to check out the quarantine section of the MAF website or else call them on new Zealand 04-498-9624

There are broadly three levels of requirement for dogs or cats which can be directly imported. The most lenient is for rabies-free countries such as the UK and Hawaii. Pets coming from those countries require a series of tests which should take approximately three weeks but do not require to be quarantined.

The second category is for countries graded as rabies-controlled. These countries include most of the European Union, United States and Canada. Pets from this category of country require four to six months testing and preparation as well as one month in quarantine. South Africa has now joined this group. However as the only country in the African continent from which animals can be brought directly, there is a requirement of six months preparation and a further four months in quarantine.

Pets from anywhere else in Africa as well as from countries such as India, China, South Korea, the Philippines and Sri Lanka must go through a so-called third country before arriving here.

Animals from the Pacific Islands must be quarantined for sixty days basically

I hope this has been helpful!

Regards

Elfa

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Elfa Kere, Consultant
Workpermit.com