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immigrationadviser.co.nz

Guides

Plain-English guides to engaging immigration help in New Zealand, grounded in the licensing rules and the IAA code of conduct — and situation guides for when something has gone wrong, grounded in the legislation and the tribunal's published decisions.

Unlawful status and section 61

When a visa has expired or was never granted, and what can still be done.

Deportation

Deportation liability, notices, humanitarian appeals and detention.

Character and criminal convictions

How convictions and character issues affect visas, and how waivers work.

  • Criminal convictions, character and your New Zealand visa

    How convictions affect NZ visa applications: the section 15 bars that cannot be waived, character waivers for residence and temporary entry, what waiver evidence and support letters should cover, drink driving, discharges without conviction, and the Clean Slate Act.

    Updated 12 August 2026

INZ process and fairness

PPI letters, responding to concerns, and your procedural rights.

Appeals and declined applications

What can be appealed, to whom, by when — and how often appeals succeed.

  • Immigration appeal success rates in New Zealand

    What share of appeals to the Immigration and Protection Tribunal succeed, by appeal type — computed from 20,700 published decisions, with outcomes explained and representation compared.

    Updated 25 July 2026

  • Visa declined in New Zealand — your options

    What to do after an INZ decline: the 14-day reconsideration for temporary visas, the 42-day residence appeal to the IPT, section 61 requests if you are unlawful, and how to choose help.

    Updated 25 July 2026

  • What you can and cannot appeal in New Zealand immigration

    The complete appeal-rights map: 42-day residence appeals to the IPT ($964 fee), why temporary visa declines cannot be appealed, the 14-day $220 reconsideration, complaints, the Ombudsman, judicial review and refugee appeal deadlines.

    Updated 26 July 2026

Work visa and employment problems

Job offer scams, paying for jobs, exploitation and employer failures.

False or misleading information

What happens when an application was not truthful — and how to respond.

  • False or misleading information and your New Zealand visa

    What happens when a visa application contains false, misleading or withheld information: declines, deportation liability under sections 157 and 158, criminal offences, what to do when your agent lied, and how to correct the record.

    Updated 26 July 2026

Partnership and family

Proving a genuine partnership, sponsoring family, and the family violence visas.

Health and medical waivers

The acceptable standard of health, the cost threshold, and how waivers work.

  • Medical waivers and the acceptable standard of health for NZ visas

    How INZ's acceptable standard of health works: the $81,000 cost threshold, the high-cost conditions list (hepatitis B and C removed from August 2026), who can and cannot get a medical waiver for residence, the narrow temporary-visa waiver classes, and the medical certificates each visa needs.

    Updated 12 August 2026

Choosing and using immigration help