You are required to complete a Border Cash Report if you carry NZ$10,000 or more cash (or foreign equivalent) into or out of New Zealand. You can complete this in the paper form: NZCS 337: Border Cash Report (DOC 332 KB), or, on condition of acceptance by a Customs Officer, the online Border Cash Report form .

You can bring any amount of cash into New Zealand in 2026, as there is no legal upper limit on how much currency you can carry. However, if you are carrying NZ$10,000 or more (or the equivalent in foreign currency), you must declare it to Customs upon arrival. This is a high-value security measure to prevent money laundering and is not a "tax" or a "fee"—it is simply a reporting requirement. To declare, you must complete a Border Cash Report (Form NZCS 337) or use the "NZ Traveller Declaration" online. Failure to declare amounts over $10,000 can result in the cash being seized and a potential fine of up to $10,000 or even prison time. For a 2026 traveler, the premier advice is to avoid carrying large sums of physical cash for safety reasons; instead, use a travel card or withdraw from local ATMs, which are ubiquitous in major hubs like Auckland and Christchurch.