Chelsea Manning has announced on Twitter she's in Auckland ahead of a planned speech.
After a tumultuous application process, the former US Army intelligence analyst had her entry clearance confirmed on Wednesday, with tour promoter Think INC saying her visa was received from Immigration New Zealand overnight.
- Chelsea Manning granted NZ work visa
- Chelsea Manning barred from entering Australia
- Chelsea Manning granted permission to apply for NZ visa
Manning posted two photos of her on a residential street with Auckland's Sky Tower clearly visible in the background.
"Woke up on the other side of the planet, see you tomorrow, Auckland," she wrote.
Manning will take part in events titled 'An Evening With Chelsea Manning' at Auckland's Q Theatre on Saturday and Wellington's Embassy Theatre on Sunday.
She wasn't granted an Australian visa in time for her shows there, and the Melbourne and Brisbane shows will instead be broadcast via video from New Zealand.
Former Labour Party MP Georgina Beyer will host Manning's shows in Auckland and Wellington.
The former soldier spent seven years in prison for releasing almost 750,000 classified military and diplomatic documents to WikiLeaks.
National MP Michael Woodhouse had argued in light of her conviction she should not be allowed to enter the country and if he were in charge he would have not let her in.
But Labour MP Michael Wood told The AM Show proper processes had to be followed for decisions on whether to let a person with a criminal conviction enter the country.
"Around these decisions you have a process. She has a conviction so she has to apply for dispensation," he says.
"The Minister then considers that and they've got certain factors they can consider and they have to make a proper and lawful decision and that's the approach we'll take in this case."
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