Immigration lawyers in Christchurch
There are 17 immigration lawyers based in the Christchurch area, and 11 law firms practising immigration law have an office here. Each firm is verified from its own website as practising New Zealand lawyers, who are exempt from immigration adviser licensing; they are regulated by the New Zealand Law Society instead of the IAA. The list below starts with the longest admitted. How this ordering works.
Christchurch immigration lawyers in figures
Years since admission
13 years median
| 0 to 4 years | 3 |
|---|---|
| 5 to 9 years | 3 |
| 10 to 19 years | 5 |
| 20 years or more | 6 |
65% of the 17 immigration lawyers based in Christchurch with a known admission date were admitted 10 or more years ago. The longest-admitted was admitted in 1985.
Year admitted
4 admitted since 2020
| Before 1990 | 2 |
|---|---|
| 1990 to 1999 | 2 |
| 2000 to 2009 | 2 |
| 2010 to 2019 | 7 |
| 2020 to 2026 | 4 |
4 of the 17 were admitted as barristers and solicitors in 2020 or later. The chart counts the immigration lawyers listed here today, not every admission in those years.
Practice breadth
71% practise immigration only
| Immigration law only | 12 |
|---|---|
| Immigration among other areas | 5 |
12 of the 17 immigration lawyers based in Christchurch practise immigration law only; 5 also practise in other areas. Practice breadth comes from each immigration lawyer's own profile.
Firm size
70% have one immigration lawyer here
| One immigration lawyer | 7 |
|---|---|
| Two immigration lawyers | 2 |
| 3 to 5 immigration lawyers | 0 |
| 6 or more immigration lawyers | 1 |
The 17 immigration lawyers work across 10 law firms with an immigration lawyer based in Christchurch. 7 of those firms have a single immigration lawyer here, and 1 have six or more.
Tribunal appeals
8 named in published decisions
| No matched published decisions | 9 |
|---|---|
| 1 to 4 appeals | 4 |
| 5 to 19 appeals | 2 |
| 20 appeals or more | 2 |
8 of the 17 immigration lawyers based in Christchurch are named as counsel in at least one published Immigration and Protection Tribunal decision, 104 appeals in all. Most representation never reaches the tribunal, so an immigration lawyer with no matched published decisions may still have acted on appeals.
Christchurch immigration lawyers by list
- Markham George LeeImmigration Solutions (Markham Lee)41 years
- Jerome WilliamsonLinwood Law39 years
- Rachael MasonLane Neave27 years
- Mark WilliamsLane Neave27 years
- Nicola TiffenDuncan Cotterill26 years
- Adele MitchellCorcoran French21 years
- Jen BensleySaunders & Co16 years
- Yuri LukasAntaris Limited15 years
- Winnie ChenLane Neave13 years
- Michelle ChenMC Legal11 years
- Josh TempletonLane Neave10 years
- Vienna TsePathvia Legal Services8 years
- Sarah CaultonLane Neave7 years
- Cam DerbySaunders & Co6 years
- Vanessa ChaPier Law4 years
- Lethan HeughPier Law4 years
- Sarah KirkwoodLane Neave3 years
Showing 17 of 17 immigration lawyers
Published appeal record of Christchurch counsel
104 published appeals name counsel based in Christchurch, across 8 of the 17 listed here, most recently 17 August 2026. “Allowed” is the appellant’s share of decided appeals; a percentage is shown only where at least 5 were decided.
| Appeal type | Appeals | Allowed | Dismissed |
|---|---|---|---|
| Residence67 appeals | |||
| Skilled migrant | 38 | 68% 25 of 37 decided | 12 |
| Partnership | 13 | 62% 8 of 13 decided | 5 |
| Dependent child | 3 | 2 of 3 decided | 1 |
| From work & Green List | 3 | 2 of 3 decided | 1 |
| Parent | 3 | 1 of 3 decided | 2 |
| Sibling & adult child | 2 | 1 of 2 decided | 1 |
| 2021 Resident Visa | 2 | 0 of 2 decided | 2 |
| Business entrepreneur | 1 | 0 of 1 decided | 1 |
| Permanent & returning resident | 1 | 1 of 1 decided | 0 |
| Business investor | 1 | 0 of 1 decided | 1 |
| Deportation30 appeals | |||
| Non-resident | 26 | 65% 17 of 26 decided | 9 |
| Resident | 3 | 3 of 3 decided | 0 |
| Type not stated | 1 | 1 of 1 decided | 0 |
| Refugee & protection | 7 | 33% 2 of 6 decided | 4 |
Counts come from decisions the tribunal has published and that name a representative we can identify with certainty. Appeals settled, withdrawn or resolved before a decision do not appear, so this is a record of published outcomes rather than of everything a practitioner has done. How matching works is set out in the methodology.
Not sure which immigration lawyer to choose in Christchurch?
Read the immigration adviser vs immigration lawyer guide or send one enquiry and we will connect you with a licensed professional.
If you already know what has gone wrong
Guides to the situations people most often need representation for, with the deadlines that apply.
- Facing deportation from New Zealand - liability, notices and appealsDeportation liability, notices, humanitarian appeals and detention.
- Section 61 requests - getting a visa while unlawfully in New ZealandWhen a visa has expired or was never granted, and what can still be done.
- Criminal convictions, character and your New Zealand visaHow convictions and character issues affect visas, and how waivers work.
- How people lose their New Zealand visas - real cases from the tribunalPPI letters, responding to concerns, and your procedural rights.
Frequently asked questions
Immigration lawyers in other cities
- Auckland51 immigration lawyers
- Wellington4 immigration lawyers
- Hamilton3 immigration lawyers
- Tauranga3 immigration lawyers
- Dunedin0 immigration lawyers
- Queenstown1 immigration lawyer
- Napier-Hastings2 immigration lawyers
- Palmerston North0 immigration lawyers
- Nelson6 immigration lawyers
- New Plymouth3 immigration lawyers
- Whangarei1 immigration lawyer
- Invercargill1 immigration lawyer
This list is not exhaustive. It is researched from public sources, including the New Zealand Law Society's register, so an immigration lawyer in Christchurch may be missing simply because their immigration practice is not identifiable from those sources. Absence here says nothing about an immigration lawyer. Know one who should be listed? Tell us.
How firms are listed and ordered: methodology. See all immigration lawyers in New Zealand.