Visa processing changes

The receiving office for New Zealand visa applications is about to change. From 10 December 2012, applications can no longer be lodged with the New Zealand Embassy in Rome, and instead need to be sent to the New Zealand Visa Application Centre operated by TT Services, Immigration New Zealand’s agent, in London. If you reside in the UK, you can submit your application to the VAC in person.

Applications are only required from people who need a visa to visit New Zealand. Visitors from visa waiver countries, including Italy, can travel to New Zealand visa free.

On the Set with Frodo and Sam, waiting for Pandora

Aotearoa, the land of the long white cloud, as the early Māori settlers called New Zealand, is still one of the most fascinating and untouched locations of our planet. New Zealand offers a variety of landscapes made of volcanic mountains, rocky coasts and sandy expanses with breath-taking sunsets on the Ocean.

A front row view of the Pope’s inaugural Mass

Getting in place for Pope Francis’s inaugural Mass on Tuesday 19 March at 9.30 meant an early start.  We were allocated a departure time from our hotel on the Via Veneto at 6.30 am, complete with motorcycle outriders.