Am I allowed to carry medicine, canned food and money into New Zealand?
- By
- Aparna Patel
- |
- 27 Jul, 2023
- |
Answer is from official New Zealand Customs for person arriving in New Zealand and you are supposed to declare (Cash, Food and Medicine) in passenger arrival card upon arrival.
1 Agriculture Item And Food
The following classes of goods must be declared to the Ministry for
Primary Industries (MPI):
- Food of any kind.
- Animals (alive or dead) or their products.
Further from official Ministry of Primary
industries,
vegetable and meat product would be considered a potential risk to New
Zealand:
- Any food – cooked, uncooked, fresh, preserved, packaged or dried.
- Animals or animal products – including meat, dairy products, fish, honey, bee products, eggs, feathers, shells, raw wool, skins, bones
or insects.Travelers who fill out the Biosecurity/Quarantine section of the
Passenger Arrival Card incorrectly risk an instant fine of $400.More than that, you could be fined up to $100,000, or get a prison
term of up to five years, for serious breaches of New Zealand’s
biosecurity laws.
2 Medicine
Personal imports (accompanying a traveller)
If you arrive in New Zealand carrying prescription medicine on your
person or in your luggage you may only bring it in if you:
- Declare the medicine on your Passenger Arrival Card.
- Have a copy of the medicine’s prescription or a letter from your doctor stating that you are being treated with the medicine.
- Have the medicine in its original pharmacy container, with your name on the label, and strength and dosage details clearly stated.
- Have no more than three months supply (oral contraceptives, where a six month supply is permitted, are the exception).
You are allowed to carry your medicine for 3 months supply only provided they are prescribed with a confirmation letter from your doctor and in its original sealed packing. Therefore, carrying 1 year medicine will not be allowed.
3 Border Cash Report
You are allowed to carry USD 15,000 in New Zealand and you must declare that amount in Border Cash Report
Anyone carrying NZ$10,000 or more (or foreign equivalent) in cash on
their person or in their baggage, into or out of New Zealand, must
complete a Border Cash
Report
as part of their entry or clearance procedures.Cash means physical currency, bearer-negotiable instruments, or both.
A bearer-negotiable instrument means:
a bill of exchange,a cheque, a promissory note, a bearer bond, a
traveler’s cheque. A money order, postal order, or similar order.This legislation does not prohibit the import or export of cash sums
of NZ$10,000 or more – it simply requires that these sums are
reported.
Moreover you are supposed to declare in passenger arrival card section 6 that you are bringing medicine, Cash and food into New Zealand.
Personally I would’t carry that much cash as there are many ways to transfer funds into New Zealand for a minimal bank fee. Also if you don’t have a bank account in New Zealand yet, you can always make an overseas demand draft/pay order and deposit into your account once you arrive in New Zealand.
Credit:stackoverflow.com‘