India-New Zealand Free Trade Agreement Comes into Force: Zero-Duty Exports and New Work Visas
The India-New Zealand Free Trade Agreement (FTA) came into force on 20 October 2026. From day one, all of India's exports to New Zealand (100% of tariff lines) can enter New Zealand with zero import duty.
The deal was signed in New Delhi on 27 April 2026. Talks had been concluded on 22 December 2025, about nine months after negotiations were launched. New Zealand's Parliament passed the law needed to bring it into force in September 2026.
It creates a new Temporary Employment Entry (TEE) visa route for skilled Indians. Up to 5,000 Indians can hold these visas at any one time, and each person can stay up to three years.
The TEE route covers professionals in IT, engineering, healthcare, education and construction, and also "iconic" Indian jobs such as AYUSH practitioners, yoga instructors, Indian chefs and music teachers.
Other mobility gains include 1,000 Working Holiday visas a year for young Indians, no cap on Indian students, and post-study work rights of up to 3 years for STEM graduates and up to 4 years for doctoral scholars.
India kept dairy (milk, cream, whey, yoghurt, cheese) and items like onions, sugar, edible oils and spices out of the deal. New Zealand apples and kiwifruit get only managed access through quotas, minimum import prices and seasonal windows. New Zealand has also committed to facilitate USD 20 billion of investment into India.
India-New Zealand Relations: From Commonwealth Cousins to Strategic Partners
India and New Zealand are two democracies linked by the Commonwealth, English common law and cricket. New Zealand is a small island country of about 5 million people in the south-west Pacific. For many years trade between the two stayed small, mainly because India protects its dairy farmers and New Zealand's biggest export is dairy. The 2026 FTA is the biggest step in moving the relationship from friendly but thin ties to a real economic partnership.
The FTA coming into force turns years of slow ties into a working economic agreement. It gives Indian goods zero-duty entry, opens jobs and study routes for Indians, and keeps India's dairy farmers protected.
GATS and the Four Modes of Trade in Services
The General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS) is the World Trade Organization's (WTO) rulebook for trade in services, like IT, banking, education and healthcare. It came into force with the WTO on 1 January 1995. GATS divides service trade into four "modes", based on where the supplier and the customer are. The new TEE visas fall under Mode 4, the mode India cares about most because of its large pool of skilled workers.
Most rich countries open Mode 4 only a little, because they worry about migration. The TEE visa is a concrete Mode 4 win for India, and the uncapped student route strengthens Mode 2 as well.
Tariff-Rate Quota (TRQ) Mechanism
A tariff-rate quota, or TRQ, is a two-level import tax. A country lets a fixed quantity of a product come in at a low tax (the in-quota rate). Anything imported beyond that quantity pays a much higher tax (the out-of-quota rate). It lets a country open its market a little without letting cheap imports flood in and hurt its own farmers.
The TRQ is how India balanced two goals in this FTA: give New Zealand some gain on fruit, while protecting apple growers in states like Himachal Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir.
- Entry into force: 20 October 2026; signed: 27 April 2026, New Delhi; talks concluded: 22 December 2025
- Zero-duty access for 100% of India's exports to New Zealand from day one
- New Zealand tariff lines: about 30% with immediate duty elimination; about 35.6% phased over 3, 5, 7 and 10 years
- Temporary Employment Entry (TEE) visas: up to 5,000 holders at any one time, stay up to 3 years
- Working Holiday visas: 1,000 per year for young Indians
- Post-study work rights: up to 3 years (STEM bachelor's and master's), up to 4 years (doctoral)
- Services: market access in 118 sectors; Most-Favoured Nation commitments in about 139 sub-sectors
- Investment: New Zealand to facilitate USD 20 billion into India
- India's exclusions: dairy, onions, sugar, edible oils, spices, coffee, rubber, arms and ammunition, gems and jewellery, copper and aluminium products
- Bilateral goods trade: about USD 1.3 billion (FY 2024-25)