You have run out of money or have unpaid debts

Unpaid debts overseas

New Zealanders with unpaid debts overseas may be detained on arrival at the airport by the local authorities, including when in transit. You may also find yourself prevented from departure until a debt is settled or a dispute is resolved. This includes cases of outstanding accommodation bills from previous visits, medical fees, missed loan repayments, bounced cheques, and unresolved commercial and civil disputes. We encourage all New Zealanders to settle all debts including bill payments prior to returning to New Zealand.

Lost or stolen credit cards

If you lose your credit card when you’re travelling, you should immediately contact your bank or credit card company. Let them know your card has been lost or stolen and see if they can give you a temporary advance. 

If you still have access to your banking app or online banking, check if you can block the card yourself.

Ask for help

If you get into financial trouble while you’re travelling, you might ask family, friends, your employer or other contacts to send you money.

If you don’t have access to your New Zealand bank account, they can transfer funds to you using international money transfer services, such as:

• Wise
• Western Union

How a New Zealand embassy can help

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

Find a New Zealand embassy

If you run into money trouble outside of Aotearoa New Zealand, a consular officer can:

• Help you contact family or friends, if you’re having trouble contacting them to ask for financial help.
• When there is no other option, transfer funds through an embassy or the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, for a fee.
• Discuss options for how to resolve your financial issues if you have tried the other options suggested here. In extreme cases, and where all other reasonable funding sources have been exhausted, we sometimes issue consular loans.

A consular office cannot:

• Pay your hotel, travel, legal or medical expenses, or the cost of returning someone who has died to New Zealand
• Give you money.

Consular loans

In extreme cases, we offer consular loans to New Zealanders in distress overseas due to exceptional circumstances. Decisions are at the sole discretion of consular officials in accordance with the Foreign Affairs Act 1988.

The situations in which a loan can be issued are extremely limited. Most loans are issued in situations where New Zealanders need to flee conflict, evacuate after a natural disaster, or some other exceptional event has occurred. 

Loans are only available for limited types of emergency costs, and only when you have exhausted all other means of financial support, including borrowing money from friends and family. 

Consular loans are generally not available:

• Because your travel has been disrupted
• To cover living costs, holiday stays, or ongoing or significant medical expenses
• For legal bills, fines or other costs associated with legal processes
• To pay for funeral or repatriation costs for deceased New Zealanders.

Many of these costs will be covered by your travel insurance.

When a loan is issued, recipients must agree to repay the full amount within a specified period (usually within months). 

If a loan is not repaid within the agreed period of time, the outstanding debt is referred to debt collection services.