Cook Islands
Somalia passportEdit check
Visa-free, 31 days
The allowance is per visit: it starts again on your next entry.
Entry and stay only. What this covers
Entry conditions4 to check
- The purpose of the visit must be one or more of: holidaying, sightseeing, visiting family or others, volunteering for no gain or reward, playing sport for no gain or reward, or exploring a business or employment opportunity.
- On arrival the visitor must report to a designated officer, complete an arrival card, and be granted a visitor permit on arrival.
- The visitor must hold an acceptable evidence of identity document, not be a prohibited person, be of good character, meet any health requirement, have sufficient funds or sponsorship, and hold an onwards travel plan.
- The visitor must not have held more than one International Visitor Permit immediately before applying, without having left the Cook Islands for a continuous period of more than six months; a stay on an International Visitor Permit cannot extend beyond two months.
Your stay
Add your arrival date to work out the stay that fits this rule.
Add entry dateSource & evidence Read the original words
Official wording
A person without continuing rights who intends to travel to, enter, and stay in the Cook Islands as a visitor for less than 90 days … or 31 days … is exempt from the requirement to obtain a visa if the purpose of their visit is 1 or more of the following: … An international visitor is a visitor who is … not a New Zealand citizen and is travelling … to, entering, and staying in the Cook Islands … as a bona fide visitor for no longer than 31 … days.
Aevamo’s reading
Reg 37 of the Cook Islands Immigration Regulations 2023 is the operative provision that creates the visitor visa waiver for the Cook Islands — it states who may enter without a visa and for how long (under 90 days for New Zealand citizens, under 31 days for others) — and Schedule 5 fixes the permit durations. The Immigration Act 2021 (s 53) only states the default that a person without continuing rights must hold a visa unless exempt or waived; the regulations, made under s 227 of the Act, are where the visitor exemption is actually created.
Reg 37(1) exempts a person without continuing rights from the visa requirement for a visit of 31 days for those who are not New Zealand citizens, and Schedule 5's International Visitor Permit definition names that party - a visitor who is not a New Zealand citizen - and fixes the permitted stay at no longer than 31 days, which is the maxDays claimed.
Source details
How the documents behind this regime are dated
24 April 2023 (regulations commencement: "These regulations come into force on 24 April 2023.")
Other entry routes 1 alternatives
These routes depend on a different document or additional conditions.
Visa, 6 months
The applicant must be a bona fide visitor seeking an extended stay, or a volunteer seeking to offer services to the Cook Islands Government or a community organisation.
Applications may be made from offshore or onshore, but no applications for a Long-Term Visitor Visa or Permit may be made at the border.
A New Zealander must not extend their stay as a visitor beyond 12 months at any one time; another foreign national must not extend beyond eight months at any one time.
What this answer covers Limits & assumptions
Work and residence rights are separate from this check. This is the entry rule and the length of stay the instrument grants. It is not a decision about you: the officer at the border decides admission, and we do not evaluate the purpose of your trip, your passport's remaining validity, an onward ticket, funds, insurance or health requirements.
Informational planning, not legal or immigration advice. The source is linked so you can check our reading.