The Act in brief
- Royal assent
- 16 Nov 2009
- In force
- 29 Nov 2010
- Parts
- 13
- Sections
- More than 470
It replaced the Immigration Act 1987. Section 3 states what it is for:
“The purpose of this Act is to manage immigration in a way that balances the national interest, as determined by the Crown, and the rights of individuals.”
What the Act does - and what it leaves to instructions
The Act sets the framework. Almost everything applicants experience day to day sits in immigration instructions, rules certified by the Minister under section 22 and published in INZ's operational manual.
Changed only by Parliament.
- Powers
- Rights
- Obligations
- Deadlines
- Offences
Changed often, and without Parliament.
- Which visa categories exist
- What they require
- Wage thresholds
- Health and character standards
- Waivers
Instructions change often and without Parliament, so a guide or immigration adviser citing "the rules" is usually citing instructions, while deadlines and appeal rights come from the Act and only Parliament can move them.
The Act does hard-code a floor. Sections 15 and 16 make certain people ineligible for visas outright (serious criminal histories and security grounds), with section 17 carrying the exceptions, including a power added in November 2025 for the Minister to grant temporary entry visas despite those sections. How the bars and the instruction-level character rules interact is covered in the criminal convictions guide.
One neighbouring statute is regularly confused with this one: the licensing of immigration advisers lives in the Immigration Advisers Licensing Act 2007, a separate Act administered by the Immigration Advisers Authority.
The thirteen parts at a glance
The Act runs to more than 470 sections across 13 parts. The map:
| Part | Sections | What it covers |
|---|---|---|
| 1: Preliminary provisions | 3 to 12 | Purpose, definitions, what "unlawfully in New Zealand" means (s 9), and the meaning of absolute discretion (s 11) |
| 2: Core provisions and decision-making | 13 to 42 | The excluded-person bars (ss 15 to 17), the obligation to leave (s 18), and immigration instructions (s 22) |
| 3: Visas | 43 to 95 | Visa grants and conditions, including the special-case powers (ss 61, 61A) |
| 4: Arrivals and departures | 96 to 123 | The border, entry permission |
| 5: Refugee and protection status | 124 to 152 | Claims and the officers who decide them |
| 6: Deportation | 153 to 182 | Every ground of deportation liability (ss 154 to 162), the deportation liability notice (s 170) and deportation orders |
| 7: Appeals, reviews and proceedings | 183 to 271 | Reconsideration (s 185), the no-appeal rule for temporary declines (s 186), residence appeals (ss 187 and 188), refugee and protection appeals (s 194), humanitarian appeals (ss 206 and 207), the Immigration and Protection Tribunal itself, and judicial review (s 247) |
| 8: Compliance and information | 272 to 306 | Enforcement powers and information sharing |
| 9: Detention and monitoring | 307 to 341 | Warrants of commitment and detention powers, heavily amended over 2025 and 2026 |
| 10: Offences, penalties and proceedings | 342 to 372 | False or misleading information (s 342), employer offences (s 350), exploitation (s 351) and the premium-charging offence (s 351A) |
| 11: Miscellaneous | 373 to 403A | Including special directions (s 378) |
Parts 12 and 13 hold the transitional provisions and the historical amendments that retired the 1987 Act.
The sections people actually meet
A handful of sections do most of the work in real cases.
| Section | What it does | Covered in |
|---|---|---|
| 11 | Absolute discretion: the reason a section 61 request can be refused without reasons and without appeal | Section 61 requests |
| 61A | Added in November 2025: a parallel power for the Minister to grant visas even contrary to instructions | Section 61 requests |
| 154 | For a person who becomes unlawful, creates deportation liability and grants the humanitarian appeal right that expires 42 days after first becoming unlawful | Facing deportation |
| 206 and 207 | The machinery and the test for that appeal: exceptional humanitarian circumstances making deportation unjust or unduly harsh | Facing deportation |
| 187 | A full appeal to the Immigration and Protection Tribunal against a residence decline | What you can and cannot appeal |
| 185 | Reconsideration of a temporary decline, which carries no appeal | What you can and cannot appeal |
| 342 | False or misleading information, which pairs with section 158's deportation liability for concealment | False information |
| 351 and 351A | Exploitation and premium-charging | Job scams and exploitation |
On the appeals side, the Act is deliberately asymmetric. Residence declines carry a full appeal under section 187; temporary declines carry only section 185's reconsideration, because section 186 expressly bars any appeal to any court, the tribunal or the Minister.
What changed in November 2025 - and since
The Immigration (Fiscal Sustainability and System Integrity) Amendment Act 2025 changed the Act in stages.
- Royal assent27 November 2025
The amendment Act received assent, with its main provisions in force the next day.
- Main provisions in force28 November 2025
Section 61A (the ministerial visa-grant power), section 351A (the premium-for-employment offence, up to seven years' imprisonment), and the section 17(4) route around the section 15 and 16 bars for temporary visas.
- Detention changes27 February 2026
Detention and warrant-of-commitment changes.
- Deportation liability widened27 May 2026
The deportation liability provisions in sections 156, 158 and 161 were extended from people convicted of offences to people convicted or found guilty, a wider net.
- Electronic monitoringSignalled for late 2026
Electronic monitoring provisions are signalled to commence in late 2026.
The Bill that would change it again
The Immigration (Enhanced Risk Management) Amendment Bill had its first reading on 26 March 2026 and sits with the Education and Workforce select committee, whose report was due mid-August 2026. As introduced, it would:
- Make it easier to demand identity information from suspected unlawful persons
- Remove the tribunal's humanitarian appeal jurisdiction for temporary visa holders who offend and for visitor visa holders
- Make residents liable for deportation if sentenced to ten years or more for offending committed within 20 years of their first residence visa
Several guides on this site flag where it would bite. Until it passes, the rules described across this directory are the current law, but if you are reading this after late 2026, check the Bill's status before relying on the appeal-rights landscape described here.
Check your understanding
These questions check what this guide says. They say nothing about your own case.
For educational and illustrative purposes only. This is not immigration advice, and no warranty is given as to its appropriateness or accuracy. If in doubt, talk to an immigration adviser or an immigration lawyer about your specific circumstances.
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