Thousands skip new ETA, levy
A technical glitch has contributed to thousands of passengers entering New Zealand without a new electronic travel authority or paying a new visitor levy.
Electronic travel authorities (ETAs) became compulsory two weeks ago for visitors from about
60 countries, despite tourism industry warnings the introduction was too rushed and should be delayed until next year.
The day before the ETA was officially introduced on October
1, Immigration Minister Iain Lees-Galloway issued a special direction to allow a ‘‘phasing in’’ of the new system, because parts of it were not working properly.
The direction effectively means hundreds of passengers a day have been able to enter the country without ETAs, avoiding the $35 tourism and conservation levy it also collects.
However, Immigration NZ (INZ) policy director Nick Aldous stressed that passengers turning up at overseas check-ins without ETAs were being screened on the spot by INZ staff and there was no threat to border security.
The phased implementation allowed for extensive testing to ensure the ETA system aligned with the advance passenger processing (APP) system which tells airlines whether passengers have an ETA. The move was partly in response to feedback from the tourism sector and airlines.
Aldous said he expected the system to be fully operational in the next couple of weeks and from early next month, passengers without ETAs would not be able to board a flight or cruise ship.
The major change to border screening means up to 1.8 million visitors a year will now have to declare any criminal convictions in advance of travel here. About 98,000 visitors requiring an ETA were expected this month.
When the Government consulted on the ETA last year the tourism industry suggested delaying its introduction because of concerns about the tight time frame and the potential for travel chaos if passengers were unaware of the change.
It is the second hiccup for the ETA with INZ warning about the growth of unofficial third party websites offering processing at grossly inflated prices, another risk it was warned about.
The INZ site charges $9 or $12, depending on whether the application is made via a mobile app or online, to cover the $14m annual cost of the screening system.
INZ began accepting ETA applications from the end of July but they did not actually become compulsory until October 1, and of the more than 280,000 ETAs processed so far, only 106 requests have been refused.
A $5m global publicity campaign targeted airlines and international travel agents, and INZ also stationed more than 30 staff at key overseas travel hubs to assist any passengers who were unaware of the new screening.
Hundreds of passengers a day have been able to enter the country without ETAs.