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Jetstar has called for an end to immigration checks between Australia and New Zealand, claiming the move would benefit the tourism industries of both countries.

Australians and New Zealanders may share a bank, a war heritage and Russell Crowe, but the two are still separate Commonwealth nations, largely independent of each other and requiring citizens of both countries to travel with a passport.

Jetstar chief executive Bruce Buchanan said flights between the two countries should be treated as though domestic, reported the Australian.

"For two countries which are so closely aligned in cultural and legal systems, there has got to be a way to get it worked out so that we have a common border and trans-Tasman flights are treated like a domestic trip," Mr Buchanan said.

In what "would be the single biggest boost to the tourism industry on both sides of the Tasman", Mr Buchanan claims doing away with passports and immigration checks would give each country an extra 326,000 passenger movements a year, reduce costs by AUD250 million and add at least AUD100 million per annum in gross domestic product.

His comments came as Jetstar announced its plans to expand its trans-Tasman operations with the launch of direct flights Australia and Queenstown in December.

In most cases, Australian and New Zealand citizens can enter each other's country to visit, live and work without the need to pre-apply for authority to enter the other country - although New Zealanders are granted a Special Category Visa in keeping with Australia's requirements for all non-citizens to hold visas.

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