The complaint process at a glance
- Complain to INZ
Use INZ's online feedback form, its paper form or its contact centre. There is no charge.
- INZ checks it can investigateUsually within 3 to 5 days if not
Its Central Feedback Team logs the complaint and tells you if it cannot accept it, and why.
- INZ respondsWithin 25 working days
A complex complaint, or one with several issues, can take longer, and INZ says it will tell you if so.
- Take it further if needed
The Ombudsman for INZ's administrative conduct, or the Privacy Commissioner for your personal or biometric information.
What INZ will investigate
INZ calls this its Complaints and Feedback Process. It covers the way INZ treated you, not whether a decision went your way.
| INZ investigates | INZ does not use this process for |
|---|---|
| A service you received from INZ, such as incorrect or misleading information in its forms or on its website | Questions about an individual visa application |
| A service you received from a panel physician or clinic | General immigration questions |
| INZ not following its own instructions or processes, such as unclear communication or not treating you with courtesy and respect | Disputing a decision INZ made on a visa application |
| How INZ collected, used, stored, disclosed or kept your personal information, including biometric information | New Zealand immigration policy, including new policy decisions |
| A response to an earlier complaint that you believe did not fully answer it |
INZ's list, read from its complaints page on 6 November 2026. The same process takes suggestions and compliments.
To challenge a decline, use the decision routes instead: the options after a declined visa, including reconsideration of a temporary visa, and the map of what you can and cannot appeal. INZ notes that a residence visa decision must be appealed within 42 days.
Where other complaints go
Some complaints that start with immigration belong elsewhere.
| Complaint about | Where it goes |
|---|---|
| A Visa Application Centre | VFS Global, which runs the centres |
| A licensed immigration adviser | The Immigration Advisers Authority; see the guide to complaining about an immigration adviser |
| An employer exploiting a migrant worker | Employment New Zealand; see the guide to job scams and migrant exploitation |
| Possible fraud, corruption or dishonesty by INZ staff | The Integrity unit at the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment, through MBIE's contact page |
How to make a complaint to INZ
INZ's online feedback form takes complaints, suggestions and compliments, including concerns about how your personal or biometric information was handled. Before you submit it:
- Enter the email address used in your immigration file
- Read and accept the terms and conditions
If you cannot use the online form, download INZ's paper complaints and feedback form and post it to the Central Feedback Team, Immigration New Zealand, Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment, PO Box 1473, Wellington 6140.
If you cannot use either form, phone INZ's contact centre. A staff member can take the complaint verbally and submit it for you.
Attach an Authority to Act, which shows INZ the person has approved you complaining for them. Without it, INZ says it may not be able to investigate.
INZ says a complaint is easier to investigate when you explain the reasons for it clearly, provide any extra information it asks for, and deal with it honestly and courteously.
What happens after you complain
INZ's Central Feedback Team processes every complaint. It logs the complaint, checks it is one INZ can investigate, contacts you if it needs more information, and assigns it to staff with the expertise to answer it.
- Cost
- Free
- If not accepted, told why
- Usually 3 to 5 days
- Expected response
- 25 working days
INZ lists these as some of the reasons a complaint is not accepted:
- It is about New Zealand Government immigration policy, including new policy decisions
- It was sent from an email address that is not in your immigration file
- It is a question about a visa
- INZ does not know who has complained
- It is made for someone else without an Authority to Act
- It is not written in English or translated into English
If you are not satisfied with INZ's answer
Two other offices can look at a complaint INZ has not resolved. Both will ask whether you tried to resolve it with INZ first.
| Office of the Ombudsman | Office of the Privacy Commissioner | |
|---|---|---|
| What it looks at | The administrative acts and decisions of state sector agencies, including INZ | Whether an organisation's actions interfered with your privacy under the Privacy Act 2020 or the Biometric Processing Privacy Code 2025 |
| What it can do | Look into the complaint and make a recommendation to INZ | Assess whether there was a breach and how serious it was, ask INZ to meet you, or ask INZ for information and help reach an agreed settlement |
| Free phone | 0800 802 602 | 0800 803 909 |
As described on INZ's complaints page, read on 6 November 2026.
The Ombudsman asks for an online complaint form, or a letter to Office of the Ombudsman, Freepost, PO Box 10152, Wellington 6140, with:
- A copy of your complaint to INZ
- INZ's response or decision, if you have one
- A clear explanation of what happened
- Why you disagree
- The outcome you want
To complain to the Ombudsman for someone else, you need their written authorisation.
Frequently asked questions
Related guides
- How to complain about an immigration adviser in New ZealandWhere complaints about licensed immigration advisers go, what the IAA and the Immigration Advisers Complaints and Disciplinary Tribunal can do, time limits, costs, and the separate paths for New Zealand lawyers and unlicensed operators.
- Visa declined in New Zealand - your optionsWhat 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.
- What you can and cannot appeal in New Zealand immigrationThe 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.
Sources
More on inz process and fairness
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