New Zealand, Iran Announce Stricter Travel Rules for Indian Nationals

New Zealand has tightened Police Clearance Standards and this will be effective from December 1, 2025.

There have been announced changes in the laws and regulations for Indian Travelers who want to head to New Zealand and Iran.

New Zealand has tightened Police Clearance Standards and this will be effective from December 1, 2025. As per the guidelines, New Zealand will only accept Police Clearance Certificates (PCCs) issued by Regional Passport Office (RPO) under India’s Ministry of External Affairs.

New Zealand immigration will no longer accept the certificates from local police stations, Deputy Commissioner Offices, or Superintendent of Police offices. Foreign authorities have mentioned that it used to be harder to verify these certificates.

What are the other requirements?

As there have been introduced changes for the Indian Travelers, along with stricter rules on PCCs, some other requirements have also been added. These are as follows-

• PCCs must be less than six months old at the time of visa submission.
• If issued in a language other than English, an official translation is required.
• Some applicants may need fingerprinting, depending on issuing authority protocols.

Such a regulation has only affected Indian nationals residing in India. And, there will be no impact of it for the Indians living abroad or non-Indians who lived in India previously.

With such an initiative, Immigration New Zealand aims to standardise verification and minimise delays caused due to inconsistent documentation formats.

Modified Requirements New Zealand v/s Iran

Emigration Clearance to Travel to Iran

Emigration is a general term that refers to leaving the home country. Earlier, Indian citizens were allowed to travel to Iran without emigration clearance. However, now, as per new regulations, this exemption has been withdrawn.