Official advice for New Zealanders living and travelling overseas
Violent crime
Being the victim of a violent crime overseas, including armed robbery, sexual assault and car-jacking, is an extremely stressful experience. If possible, find a safe location and talk to someone you trust to support you so that you can consider your safety, medical care, legal concerns and reporting the crime.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade liaises with the Ministry of Health to provide information on health issues for New Zealand travellers, including information on disease outbreaks and health precautions for travellers.
For more information on travel health issues, please see our Health and Travel page.
Inter-country adoptions take time and money. New Zealand is a contracting state to the Hague Convention on Protection of Children and Co-operation in Respect of Inter-country Adoption. It is extremely important to seek independent legal advice and consult Child, Youth and Family before embarking on an inter-country adoption. You must ensure that any child adopted overseas by a New Zealander is able to lawfully exit the country they are in, and enter and reside permanently in New Zealand, if that is the intention.
International surrogacy can be fraught with difficulty. Recent international media coverage has highlighted significant concerns for those considering travelling overseas for commercial surrogacy arrangements. It is extremely important to ensure that any child born as a result of a surrogacy arrangement overseas is able to exit that country lawfully, and enter and reside permanently in New Zealand, if that is the intention.
