Prohibited Items List for New Zealand
The following items are prohibited from entering New Zealand because they may be carrying animal or plant pests, diseases and viruses:
Dairy Products
Milk, cheese, powder, butter, ghee, and 3-in-1 milk drinks cannot be brought into New Zealand.
Eggs and Egg Products
Fresh, cooked, salted, preserved, braised, and egg cartons cannot be brought into New Zealand.
Fresh Vegetables and Fruit
They may seem harmless, but they can seriously threaten New Zealand’s fruit and vegetable industry as they are potentially at risk from pests such as the Mediterranean fruit fly and pathogens such as citrus ulcers.
Freshwater Fish
Frozen, salted, and dried fish, e.g., salmon and trout (except for filling), are prohibited in New Zealand.
Bee Products
Bee products such as honey bees, pollen, propolis, honeycomb, royal jelly, honeycomb and honey syrup are prohibited.
Medicinal Plant and Animal Products
For example, bird’s nests, deer antlers, deer whips, bear bile, dried reptiles, and chicken lining are not allowed to be carried.
Meat and Meat Products
For example, salami, ham, beef jerky, dried pork, meat sweets, marinated chicken, roast duck and savoury mooncakes are not allowed to enter New Zealand. These may contain bacterial or animal pathogens and can be easily transmitted to New Zealand’s flora and fauna.
Rare Plants and Animals and Their Products
Common CITES-protected species include American ginseng, wood sorrel, asparagus, musk, tortoise board, bear bile, antelope horn and tiger bone, rhinoceros horn, seals, pangolin, and certain snakes, toadstools, coral, and ivory, which are also not allowed to be brought into New Zealand.
Animals
New Zealand does not allow insects, pets, ornamental fish, birds, turtles, and eggs.
Plants
Whole plants, cut sections, bulbs, corms, rhizomes, tubers, etc. Fresh flower arrangements, wreaths and garland material. Unpopped corn and straw packing materials are also not permitted.
Other items
For example, soil, holy water, biological cultures and organisms, biological products, animal products, food, animal medicines and vaccines, food additives, pesticides and insecticides.
New Zealand Restricted Items List
The following items are subject to quarantine inspection by the (MAF) Ministry of National Forestry Quarantine Officer, and certain items require specific quarantine treatment before they can safely enter New Zealand:
Seeds
Seeds in any form, including commercially packaged finished products. It can carry fungi, bacteria, and viruses that can cause catastrophic damage to New Zealand’s horticulture and forestry industries if they spread to New Zealand’s native plants.
Plant Products
Includes nuts, herbs, condiments and soup mixes. Examples include pecan kernels, wolfberries, soya beans, sorghum, millet, wheat grains, tangerine peel, honeysuckle, codonopsis, lotus seeds, lilies, mushrooms and fungus.
Food
Various foodstuffs, including cooking seasonings such as garlic, ginger, spices, and soups, have been processed and prepared with packaging.
Straw Wheat
For example, wood carvings, baskets, bamboo and rattan products.
Camping and Sports equipment
For instance: tents, shoes, football shoes, golf shoes, etc.
Animal products
Including skins, furs (such as drums, erhu and other musical instruments), feathers, taxidermy, animal bones, horns and teeth, trophy displays, unprocessed wool, animal hair, leather and shell crafts.
What Items Need to be Declared When Entering New Zealand?
NZD 10,000 or more in cash or foreign currency equivalent.
Travellers carrying more than NZD10,000 in cash or foreign currency must declare it to a customs officer. If you carry between NZD10,000 and NZD20,000 in money, declare it, and no one will give you a hard time. The reason for the declaration can be “shopping in New Zealand” or travelling expenses, etc. There is no problem.
All food and agricultural products are allowed to be brought in.
Some food and agricultural products can be brought into New Zealand, but you must declare them as such and submit them for customs inspection.
Medicines
You are only allowed to bring in an appropriate amount of necessary medication for your journey. However, if the medication to be carried contains potentially addictive or narcotic ingredients, it must be declared to customs officials. It is worth noting that a Chinese drug, Neo-Contact, is prohibited from being brought into New Zealand. This is because it contains pseudoephedrine, which is the main ingredient in the manufacture of methamphetamine. Under no circumstances is this drug allowed to be brought into New Zealand.
Alcoholic beverages and tobacco products over the duty-free limit
You can bring more than the duty-free limit of alcoholic beverages and tobacco products into New Zealand, but you must declare it on your passenger entry card. Customs and excise duties must be paid on the excess.
Goods for commercial purposes
Items that are to be sold in New Zealand.
A gentle reminder: declare it if you are unsure about what you are carrying: although after declaring, you will be guided to the channel where you manually check your luggage, the clearance speed will be slower, and your luggage will become messy; however, if you do carry items you are not sure about, it is better to let them check the following to avoid more trouble.
New Zealand Customs Duty Rates
New Zealand tariff rates range between 0 per cent and 15 per cent, with an average rate of 5.11 per cent. Certain goods, such as books, laptops and other electronics, are exempt from duty. However, New Zealand imposes a heavy duty on alcohol and tobacco items that exceed the duty-free limit. For example, if declared taxable, a cigarette currently costs NZ$170 (200 ordinary cigarettes).
Items that are Exempted from Customs Duty When Entering New Zealand
Private intimates
Clothes, jewellery, hairdryers, cologne, perfumes, and razors for personal use, not for sale, will not be brought into New Zealand in large quantities.
Personal Effects
Personal belongings not intended for commercial or trading use, with a total value not exceeding NZD$ 700, may be brought into the country duty-free.
Alcoholic Beverages and Tobacco Products within the Limits
If the following conditions are met:
- Carry-on items for customs clearance on arrival
- Items not carried for another person
- Items not intended for sale or exchange
A traveller may bring into New Zealand duty-free up to 50 cigarettes, 50 grams of cigars or tobacco products, or a mixture of these three types of tobacco up to a total weight of 50 grams. For alcoholic beverages, a traveller may bring into New Zealand duty-free up to 3 bottles of spirits (each not exceeding 1.15 litres) or 4.5 litres of fruit wines (equivalent to 6 750ml bottles).
Note: New Zealand prohibits the sale of cigarettes and alcohol products to minors under 18, so travellers younger than 18 will not be eligible for duty-free cigarettes or alcohol when passing through customs.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the cash limit for entering New Zealand?
New Zealand does not limit cash that can be brought into the country; it only says that you must declare if you have more than NZD 10,000. The reason for the declaration can be “shopping in New Zealand” or travelling expenses, etc. There is no problem. However, bring 50,000 or 100,000 New Zealand Dollars in cash or equivalent foreign currencies. Even if you declare it, it will be relatively troublesome because the customs officers may think that you have the suspicion of “international money laundering”.
Can I bring Chinese mooncakes to New Zealand?
Mooncakes with bean paste, double yolk lotus seed paste and other fillings are allowed; meat mooncakes are strictly prohibited. Please declare the mooncakes according to food, plant, and animal items (e.g., egg yolks). Deliberate concealment or misrepresentation is punishable by a fine of up to NZ$10,000 or 5 years imprisonment. 3.
Can I bring a bird’s nest into New Zealand?
Bird’s nests are classified as “Biohazardous Goods”. Dried bird’s nests are strictly prohibited from entering New Zealand. To be allowed to enter New Zealand, you need to fulfil the following criteria.
- Commercially produced and packaged products;
- Pills, granules, capsules, liquids, syrups, oils or medicinal plasters;
- The product must be shelf-stable (no refrigeration required);
- If in liquid form, it must be sealed and packaged.
You are required to declare the bird’s nest on your entry card. False declaration or concealment of a bird’s nest is punishable by a fine of NZD 100,000 and/or five years imprisonment.
Can I bring snacks such as phoenix claws, duck tongues and duck necks to New Zealand?
No. Any poultry with bones is not allowed to enter New Zealand, so Phoenix Feet, Duck Tongue, and Duck Neck are prohibited items and cannot be brought into New Zealand.
Can I bring cosmetics into New Zealand?
Cosmetics are personal items and can be brought into New Zealand duty-free as long as they are within the scope of personal use. However, some cosmetics are liquids, and there are strict rules on how much liquid you can bring through customs, not more than how many millilitres. You need to ask the receptionist of the flight you are travelling on to clarify whether you are allowed to carry liquids and the number of millilitres you need to carry.
