Our services

SafeTravel, including the website used to register your travel, is run by the Consular Division of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade. The team gives help and advice to New Zealanders who are living and travelling overseas.

Travel advice

Our travel advice tells New Zealanders how safe it is to travel to other countries. This advice is informed by security risks in the country, what local authorities are doing to minimise the risk, and what help we can give you when you’re there.

Check the travel advice for your destination

About our travel advice

Find out more about the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade

Consular services

We provide consular services to New Zealand citizens outside of New Zealand, even if they don’t normally live in New Zealand. Our services range from assisting people in detention, helping people who have been victims of crime, supporting families of New Zealanders who have died in another country, to providing warnings and advice to registered New Zealanders where there are issues in the areas they are travelling. 

If you are a New Zealander but entered the country you travelled to with a non-New Zealand passport, you should contact the embassy of the country whose passport you used to enter the country. In exceptional circumstances you may be able to also get consular assistance at the nearest New Zealand Embassy, but there can be significant limitations if you are travelling using a passport of another country or have multiple citizenships.

Find out more about consular assistance if you are a dual national

How a New Zealand embassy can help

New Zealand embassies, high commissions and consulates are there to help New Zealand citizens when you are having difficulty overseas.

Find a New Zealand embassy

A New Zealand consular officer can:

• Provide information on the New Zealand Government’s travel advice
• Help you contact family and friends if you need access to emergency funds, if you are arrested, or if you are sick or injured
• Give advice on what to do if your passport is lost or stolen
• Give advice if you have been a victim of crime, including on things like finding a local hospital or police station, or accessing local support networks that we might be aware of
• Provide a list of English-speaking lawyers
• Provide advice on making arrangements after a death overseas, including to bring your loved one home
• Help during crises, such as civil unrest and natural disasters
• Provide notarial services.

A New Zealand consular officer cannot:

• Pay for any expenses, including at your hotel, travel, legal or medical expenses, over-staying fines, or the cost of bringing deceased New Zealanders home. These are significant costs, are the responsibility of individual travellers, and is why travel insurance is essential for any New Zealander overseas
• Give you legal or medical advice
• Investigate a crime or missing person, advocate for you in another country’s legal system, or get you out of prison
• Get you better conditions in prison or hospital than a local citizen would receive
• Arrange visas, work or residency permits for you
• Receive your mail or store your belongings
• Ask another country to overturn your travel ban
• Become involved in commercial disputes or civil litigation.

Find out more about how we can help with particular issues in our When things go wrong section. 

Annual consular snapshot

The annual Consular Snapshot contains information about the assistance the Ministry provides to New Zealanders who travel or live overseas. Want to know more about how we’ve helped New Zealanders overseas? Check out the consular snapshots on the MFAT website.

Feedback and more information

• We welcome feedback when we could have done better or about things that we are doing well. We run regular surveys of our services and always welcome further feedback.
• Get more official travel tips, or download a brochure of things to remember before you travel on the New Zealand Government’s Before you travel page.