These services range from assisting people in detention, helping people who have been victims of crime, supporting families of New Zealanders who have died in another country, to providing warnings and advice to registered(external link) New Zealanders where there are issues in the areas they are travelling.
Consular Snapshot 2024/25
This year (1 July 2024 to 30 June 2025), the Ministry received 38,979 general consular enquiries, sent 500 messages to registered(external link) New Zealanders, and assisted 1,610 new cases of New Zealanders in difficulty overseas, while continuing to support 795 ongoing cases.
Advice for New Zealanders going overseas
Our website SafeTravel(external link) has advice on the countries you are travelling to and a wide range of tips to help ensure safety when travelling offshore. There is advice on what to do before you go, what to do if things go wrong, and how the New Zealand Government can (or cannot) help if you are in trouble.
If you are planning overseas travel, then:
- Register your details with us so we can send you security alerts, travel advice updates about the places you’re travelling to, and to ensure we can communicate with you during an international crisis – Register your travel(external link)
- Check our advice for the countries you are travelling to – Find travel advice(external link)
- Get insurance for all the activities and places you are travelling – Travel insurance(external link)
- Do some research to understand the local conditions and how they could affect your health – Health advice(external link)
- Ensure you have access to sufficient money to see you through your trip
- Check your passport has at least six months validity after you plan to return from your travel, and you have visas to enter all the countries you are travelling to or transiting through – Passports and visas(external link)
- Be prepared in case things go wrong – When things go wrong(external link) and Emergency or disaster(external link).
Find more information about how the New Zealand Government can help New Zealanders overseas on SafeTravel(external link).
Download the Consular Snapshot report
Our Consular Snapshot report summarising how we helped New Zealanders overseas in the 2024/25 year is available to download as a PDF below.