Home > Consular Service > Important Notice
TEMPORARY SUSPENSION OF ACCEPTING SUBMISSION FOR VISA AND CONSULAR LEGALISATION APPLICATIONS IN PERSON TO THE CONSULAR (VISA) SECTION
2020-03-17 09:33

As of today, more cases of COVID-19 have been confirmed in New Zealand. In an effort to reduce the risk of overcrowding and to avoid becoming infected and also to prevent the coronavirus being transmitted in the public area, as a precautionary measure to ensure the safety and wellbeing of our visitors, the visa hall of the Chinese Embassy in New Zealand has limited its seating capacity and ensure there is a minimum of 1 meter between occupied seats and also has limited the number of visitors at the waiting area. The visa hall is cleaned thoroughly and disinfected on a daily basis and hand sanitiser is also made available to the public. In effective from today, the Consular (Visa) section temporarily suspend accepting visa and consular legalisation application submissions are lodged directly to the office in person, and the details are as follows:

1. If you feel unwell, especially if you have symptoms like fever, cough or shortness of breath, or have had close contact with someone who is confirmed to have infection with COVID-19, or have returned to New Zealand recently, you need to be self-isolated for 14 days. Please do not visit the visa office for any consular related applications. We do recommend wearing face mask when you come to the office and please make sure you follow the instruction given by our staff.

2. It is recommended to only submit visa or consular legalisation applications when the situation is getting better, unless they are to be used for urgency.

3. The Consular (Visa) section temporarily suspend accepting visa and consular legalisation application submissions directly to the office in person. All applications now must be submitted and returned via post or courier. Most visa and consular legalisation applications are not required to be submitted in person, and after carefully consideration, we have decided to suspend accepting visa and consular legalisation application submissions are lodged in person directly to the office. Details can be found through the official website of the Chinese Embassy in New Zealand (www.chinaembassy.org.nz). For any consular related enquiries, please ring 04 473 3514 between 9am – 11:30am during business days, or your call will be answered by automated operator outside those hours. You may also email your enquiries to nzchinaembassy@gmail.com.

We will continue to closely monitor the situation and be ready to take appropriate action. The above changes will remain in effect until further notice.

The Embassy of the People’s Republic of China in New Zealand wishes everyone good health.

17 March 2020

Suggest to a Friend:   
Print