New Zealand Immigration Information


GENERAL FACTS New Zealand - Aotearoa




New Zealand comprises three main islands, North Island - South Island - Stewart Island, and is located 1900km southeast of Australia.
The country is long (1600km) and narrow being only 400km at its maximum breadth.
New Zealand extends from latitude 34ºS to 47ºS.

AREA: 266,171 sq km (102,374 sq miles).

POPULATION: 4,000,000 (2003), 14.2 people per sq km.

CAPITAL: Wellington. Population: 384,000 (2003, including Kapiti).

Auckland, with a population of 1,100,000 (2003, including the greater Auckland area), is the largest urban area in the country.

GOVERNMENT: Constitutional monarchy since 1907.

Head of State: HM Queen Elizabeth II since 1952, represented locally by Governor-General Dame Silvia Cartwright since 2001.
Dame Silvia completed her term on 4 August 2006. Her successor, Judge Anand Satyanand, will be sworn in on 23 August 2006.

Head of Government: Prime Minister Helen Clark (Labour) since 1999.

Legislative power is held by the unicameral 120 seat House of Representatives, which is elected for a 3-year term.

A system of mixed member proportional representation was introduced at the election of October 1996, when the legislature increased from 99 to 120 seats.

As in the UK, the leader of the largest party in the House normally becomes prime minister, and holds executive power at the head of an executive council (cabinet).

The country is a member of the Commonwealth and also several other international organisations, including ANZUS, the Five Power Defence Agreement and the South Pacific Forum.

New Zealand is a nuclear-free country since 1985.

LANGUAGE: English is the common and everyday language, but other languages are also spoken, including Maori, which is New Zealand's second official language (spoken by approximately 15% of the Maori population).

TIME: New Zealand: GMT + 12 (GMT + 13 from the last Sunday in October to the last Sunday in March). Chatham Island: GMT + 12.45 (GMT + 13.45 from the last Sunday in October to the last Sunday in March).

ELECTRICITY: 230/240 volts AC, 50Hz. Most hotels provide 110-volt AC sockets (rated at 20 watts) for electric razors only.

PRESS: The English-language daily newspapers with the highest circulation include New Zealand Herald, The Press, Evening Post and The Dominion.

COMMUNICATIONS: Telephone: IDD is available. Country code: 64. Outgoing international code: 00. Most public phones take cards purchased from bookstalls; some also accept credit cards, but very few still accept coins. Fax: Most hotels provide facilities.

POST: Post offices are open 0900-1700 Monday to Friday. Airmail to Western Europe takes four to five days(express) and to the USA three to ten days (express).

More detailed information about New Zealand can be found at New Zealand Info Center