New Zealanders wanting to spend more than six months in Britain will soon have to apply for a residence permit.
The change, which comes into effect on November 13, will mean people who want to spend a long time in Britain will need to get entry clearance before leaving New Zealand, rather than upon arrival in Britain.
The change does not affect those who already need to apply for entry clearance - such as working holidaymakers - or people who will be spending less than six months in Britain.
William Robertson, head of the British High Commission's consular section, said the move, essentially a procedural change, meant New Zealanders planning a long-term trip to Britain would need to apply to the high commission for the certificate before leaving.
"This will alleviate many of the delays that currently arise in granting entry clearance at ports of entry," he said. "At present we anticipate issuing straightforward resident permits in two days."
Meanwhile, New Zealanders wanting to enter the United States visa-free under the terms of the Visa Waiver Programme will have to present machine-readable passports from October 1.
The US Embassy in Wellington said the change would affect all 27 countries in the programme.
"Machine-readable passports use new technologies that make them more secure from tampering than old-style passports," the embassy said.
"Many countries, including New Zealand, already have begun to replace their expiring old-style passports with new machine-readable passports."
From October, New Zealanders holding the old-style passports could enter the US (other than for transit purposes) only if they held a valid US non-immigrant visa.
The visa application process could be lengthy and usually included a personal interview with a consular officer.
"Families and groups should obtain individual passports for each traveller, including infants," the embassy said.
"Machine-readable passports typically have bio-data for only one traveller in the machine-readable zone and families may be denied visa-free entry into the US if the bio-data for only one traveller is machine-readable."
- NZPA
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