Import

Kawe mai

Find out how importing to New Zealand works: how to import food, animals, wood products, plants, soil, vehicles and machinery. Border clearance helps to keep out unwanted pests and diseases.

In this section

I tēnei wāhanga

Importing into NZ: how it works

Requirements to follow, access and trade into NZ, IHSs, fees and charges, laboratory services

Border clearance: aircraft, boats, arrival, and clearance facilities

Arrival steps, ballast water, biofouling, cruise ships, yachts, hitchhiker pests

Household goods and personal effects importing to NZ

Relocating or returning to NZ, preparing an inventory, declarations to complete

Importing food

Dairy, eggs, honey, fruit, veg, organics, pork, poultry, wine, seafood, processed food, and others

Importing timber and wood products

Sleepers, sawn timber, furniture, shavings and chips, pulp, wood packaging

Importing biological products and organisms

Biological products, cell cultures, and microorganisms are strictly controlled

Importing ACVM – Agricultural compounds and veterinary medicines

Agricultural chemicals, vertebrate toxic agents (poisons), veterinary medicines

Importing live animals

Aquatic, farm, laboratory, and zoo animals. Plus, horses, avian hatching eggs, invertebrates, and germplasm

Importing animal food

Feed made from plants, fish bait and fish food, ingredients for animal food, pet food

Importing fibre, skins, and trophies

Animal products including fibre, hides, skins, ornamental items

Importing plants, flowers, seeds, and plant-growing products

Cut flowers and foliage, dried and preserved plants, nursery stock, seeds, fungi, fertilisers

Importing inorganic materials

Glass or scrap metal for recycling, industrial residues, waste for precious metal recovery, used parts and vehicle batteries

Importing soil, rock, gravel, sand, clay, and water

You need to meet strict biosecurity requirements to prevent the entry of unwanted organisms into NZ

Importing vehicles, machinery, and parts

These items often carry soil, plant matter, and animals – so biosecurity requirements must be met

Importing research samples (excluding animal samples)

Laboratory specimens (organic and inorganic material), herbarium specimens, trade samples