New Zealand Customs & Yacht Clearance: Step-by-Step Guide (2026)

Q: Has Some Tuesday cleared into New Zealand?

No. We have not arrived in New Zealand. This guide is the official process, checked on 13 October 2026.

We have not arrived in New Zealand. Everything below is the official process. Nothing here is a story about a dock we have stood on.

Heads up

This is best efforts, not a guarantee. Rules change, officials change, and two boats clearing into the same harbor the same week can have pretty different experiences. We do our best by combining three things: research (reading the official sites so you don’t have to), automation (a tool that fills in the forms for you), and personal experience (what actually happened to us, with dates). It’s all in one guide and one forms tool. It won’t make clearing in effortless, but it should make it a whole lot easier. If something’s different when you get there, tell us and we’ll fix it for the next boat.

1. Visa or NZeTA, before you travel

Who needs what: Private yacht crew cannot apply for a Crew ETA. People on New Zealand or Australian passports do not need a visa, an NZeTA, or a Crew ETA. Everyone else needs an NZeTA if they are from a visa-waiver country, or a visa if they are not. Customs says the same thing: travellers who are not New Zealand or Australian passport holders need a current visa or NZeTA.
Where to read it: Crew of private yachts, Private Yacht or Aircraft Visitor Visa, and INZ 1083, Guide for Visitors Arriving by Yacht (October 2025).
What INZ 1083 asks you to carry: A passport. A visa if one is required. Evidence of funds of NZ$400 per month if you are living on board. If you will leave by commercial transport, an outward ticket or the funds to buy one. Owners and their dependants who are not leaving that way need evidence of ownership and adequate insurance against major damage. Crew and passengers need a letter from the owner or captain saying they will depart on that craft.
How long: INZ 1083 says owners and crew of yachts are ordinarily granted a multiple-entry visitor visa for an initial stay of up to three months. A super yacht, which that guide defines as a privately owned yacht over 20 metres, is ordinarily up to six months. If you are not required to hold a visa, you may be granted three months on arrival, or six months if you are a British national. Further visas can take a yacht stay up to nine months, or twelve months on a super yacht. A longer stay, to wait out the hurricane season from October to April or for a refit or major repairs, is a further visitor-visa application.
Passport validity: Customs says to check the expiry against Immigration NZ’s acceptable travel documents. This guide does not state a number of months. Read that page before you sail.
NZeTA fee: This guide does not state the fee. It is on the NZeTA page.
Our experience: We have not arrived.

2. Email NZCS 340 at least 48 hours ahead

What: Form NZCS 340, Advance notice of arrival (small craft). The copy linked from the Customs small-craft page is the October 2018 form. The Word file was last saved on 29 September 2021. Completing it is mandatory, in the format Customs specifies. The tool ships that October 2018 form. Verify the form version with NZ Customs before you send it.
When: At least 48 hours before the yacht enters New Zealand waters, 12 nautical miles from the coast. Preferably before you leave the last overseas port.
Where it goes: yachts@customs.govt.nz. Customs forwards it to MPI. If there is no automatic reply, check the address and send it again.
Attach: A passport bio-page for every person, the certificate of registration, and a photograph of the whole craft. Also send evidence of value: a bill of sale is what Customs prefers, or a current full-replacement marine insurance value, or a New Zealand independent valuation at importation, at your cost. JPEG, PNG, PDF, or Word. Customs does not accept Dropbox or Google Drive links.
If the plan changes: Email yachts@customs.govt.nz and ITOCOperationsCentre@customs.govt.nz, especially if you will arrive earlier than the ETA in Part B.
Official: Travel by small craft and NZCS 340 (DOC).
Forms tool: The New Zealand forms tool fills a PDF rendering of that Word form so the answers sit on the lines. You still check it and email it yourself. The tool does not send it.

3. Biosecurity, before you arrive

Full clearance: MPI says most recreational vessels need a full biosecurity clearance to sail freely and to stay more than 28 days. That is an inspection, removal of risk goods, and underwater surfaces free of biofouling. Without full clearance you can only visit places of first arrival, and for a maximum of 28 days.
Long-stay hull clean: Most yachts are long-stay under the craft risk management standard: 29 days or longer, or a visit to a place that is not a place of first arrival. Long-stay craft should provide evidence that the entire hull, including niche areas, was cleaned less than 30 days before arrival. The evidence is a hull-cleaning report, a dry-docking report, or a biofouling inspection report. It is not a form this tool fills.
Master’s declaration: On arrival an MPI officer reviews the Master’s declaration for full biosecurity clearance. The yacht page says this is done with the officer. You can prepare the answers ahead. The tool ships the copy whose PDF footer says December 2020. The MPI document record was last updated on 9 September 2025. Verify that form version with MPI before you use it. The tool leaves the signature, the declaration date, and the question about surrendering goods to the inspector blank.
Biosecurity Pre-Arrival Report: Ask MPI whether a private yacht must file the Biosecurity Pre-Arrival Report in addition to the master’s declaration. Email vessels@mpi.govt.nz. The yacht page lists Part 4 of that report only if the yacht is carrying ballast water.
Official: Yachts and other recreational vessels, last reviewed 16 April 2026, and biofouling management. Questions go to vessels@mpi.govt.nz.
Our experience: We have not arrived.

4. The first port, the Q flag, and staying aboard

Quarantine flag: Fly the Q flag from the 12 nautical mile limit until you are given arrival clearance. Keep AIS, or another observable satellite tracker, on for the passage.
Customs arrival ports: Opua Marine Park. Marsden Cove Marina, Whangārei. Auckland Central Marina and Silo Marina, for specified superyacht clients, booking required. Westhaven Marina, private recreational craft up to 20 metres with a maximum beam of 5 metres, booking required. Port Marlborough, Picton, including Waikawa. Lyttelton.
Updates on that page: 18 August 2026: Nelson is temporarily unavailable for yacht arrivals except yachts that can meet the MPI craft risk management standard. Evidence can be sent to vessels@mpi.govt.nz. 18 August 2026, and a 15 April 2026 note: Vessel Works at Tauranga cannot receive arriving or departing yachts.
MPI places of first arrival: MPI’s yacht page lists Opua, Marsden Cove, Northport at Whangārei, Auckland Central and Silo for pre-arranged superyachts, Westhaven for pre-arranged clients, Port Marlborough at Picton, Port Nelson (not available until further notice, because of a haul-out upgrade), and Lyttelton. Contact the marina for a quarantine berth. Arriving anywhere else needs prior MPI approval, or it is an emergency.
These Customs pages conflict: Read both. The current small-craft page, checked 16 October 2026, says a temporary import is a maximum of 21 months from 1 September 2026, Nelson is temporarily closed to yacht arrivals unless the yacht can meet the MPI craft risk management standard, and Vessel Works at Tauranga cannot take arriving or departing yachts. The older recreational page still says up to 24 months and lists Tauranga, bookings only, and Nelson as arrival ports.
On the dock: Have the last overseas port clearance ready. Customs and MPI board. Stay aboard until they clear you. Only border staff may board until then. Have your passport, and a visa if you need one.
Radio: Update the ETA with Maritime Radio on HF or VHF when you are in range. On arrival in New Zealand waters, call Maritime Radio on 2182, 4125, 6215, 8291, 12290 or 16420 kHz, or VHF 16. NZCS 340 also says to call 12 hours before the nominated Customs port.

5. Inward report and the traveller declaration

Form C1B: An inward report within 24 hours of arriving at a Customs place. Customs recommends completing as much as you can before arrival. The linked PDF is headed July 2024. Sign and date it yourself. Form C1B (PDF).
New Zealand Traveller Declaration: Each person completes one online. The earliest submission is 24 hours before you leave the last foreign port. It has to be in by the time the yacht has berthed. If you cannot submit it digitally, you complete a paper declaration at arrival with an officer. Biosecurity items a person is carrying are answered on that site. Travelling by sea.
Cash: NZ$10,000 or more in cash, or the foreign equivalent, needs a Border Cash Report. If you have not done it before arrival, an officer gives you a form.
Animals: Declare them on NZCS 340, on the master’s declaration, and on the traveller declaration. Cats and dogs need a separate MPI import permit. MPI’s page for bringing cats and dogs.

6. Temporary import, the Customs number, and the levy

Temporary import: On the current small-craft page, a qualifying yacht may get a temporary import entry for a maximum of 21 months from arrival. Customs says that change, from 24 months, took effect on 1 September 2026 so there is a departure window outside the south-west Pacific cyclone season. The owner must not be living permanently in New Zealand, unless they plan to leave within 21 months. A yacht brought in mainly to sell is unlikely to qualify. The older recreational page still says up to 24 months. The two pages conflict.
Security: The paper C4G is the security undertaking, and it is completed at the port. It is not a form you download in advance. From 1 May 2027 the paper C4G is to be replaced. Form NZCS 274 is not mandatory. Customs recommends sending it about a week to a month before you leave the last port, to yachts@customs.govt.nz, if you want the electronic temporary import entry prepared.
Customs number: A visiting owner, or a first permanent import, needs a Customs client number. How to apply.
Border processing levy: If the yacht sails in under its own power, Customs invoices the email address on the advance notice. Payment is due by the 20th of the following month. This guide does not state the amount. Border processing levies.
Not in the forms tool yet: NZCS 274, NZCS 224A, C2B, NZCS 275, and the Border Cash Report are not yet supported. Customs lists them on the small-craft page.
Duty: Customs says most used vessels that sail in do not meet the direct-shipment rules for duty-free entry, and suggests a customs broker if you need a ruling. This guide does not state a duty rate.

7. Leaving

Advance notice of departure: Form C2B at least four hours before you leave, earlier if you can, to yachts@customs.govt.nz or the Customs office at the departure port. C2B (PDF).
Departure ports: Opua, Marsden Cove, Viaduct and Silo for pre-arranged superyachts, Westhaven, Picton including Waikawa, Nelson, and Lyttelton. A departure from anywhere else needs approval from yachts@customs.govt.nz. Tauranga cannot take departing yachts until further notice.
Cash on the way out: The same Border Cash Report if you are carrying NZ$10,000 or more, or the foreign equivalent.

Who to call

Email yachts@customs.govt.nz. From New Zealand, 0800 428 786. From Australia, 1800 301 861. From overseas, +64 4 931 5799 or +64 9 927 8036. If you need to pause the passage and it is not life-threatening, email itocops@customs.govt.nz, or call 0508 486 267 from New Zealand or +64 9 927 8240 from overseas. You need permission before you stop.

Questions

When do I send the New Zealand advance notice?

Email NZCS 340 to yachts@customs.govt.nz at least 48 hours before the yacht enters New Zealand waters, 12 nautical miles from the coast. Customs prefers it before you leave the last overseas port. We have not sent one.

Does private yacht crew need an NZeTA?

Private yacht crew cannot use a Crew ETA. New Zealand and Australian passport holders do not need a visa, an NZeTA, or a Crew ETA. Everyone else needs an NZeTA if they are from a visa-waiver country, or a visa if they are not.

Has Some Tuesday cleared into New Zealand?

No. We have not arrived in New Zealand. This page is the official process, checked on 13 October 2026.

Want these filled in for you?

The forms tool is free. It fills in NZCS 340, the inward report, and the master’s declaration on your device, and it gives answer sheets for the NZeTA and the traveller declaration because those are online only.

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The honest fine print

Some Tuesday, LLC shares information and a do-it-yourself forms tool, free. We never file, submit, sign or send paperwork for anyone. We’re not a customs agent, yacht agent or lawyer, and nothing here is legal advice.

Everything here is best efforts. We combine research from the official sources, automation that fills in the forms for you, and our own experience. Rules change, officials change, and every boat’s experience in each country will be a little different, including from ours. Before you rely on anything here, check it against the official links and with the officials themselves. You’re responsible for checking, signing and submitting your own forms.

New Zealand customs and clearance for yachts, step by step