Immigration appeal success rates in New Zealand

Success rates by appeal type

A success here means the tribunal allowed the appeal, cancelled the decision and returned the application to Immigration New Zealand as if newly lodged, or the appeal led to a grant of residence. Dismissed and declined appeals count as unsuccessful. Withdrawn appeals, jurisdiction rulings and referrals to the Minister that have no recorded grant sit outside both sides of the calculation.

• Skilled migrant residence: 48% of 3,767 decided appeals succeeded
• Partnership residence: 52% of 1,514 decided appeals succeeded
• Parent residence: 42% of 1,184 decided appeals succeeded
• Sibling and adult child residence: 49% of 399 decided appeals succeeded
• Business residence: investor 51% of 200 and entrepreneur 45% of 259 decided appeals succeeded
• Special policies (Pacific access, Samoan quota, victims of domestic violence and similar): 72% of 274 decided appeals succeeded
• Deportation, non-resident: 37% of 3,945 decided appeals succeeded
• Deportation, resident: 33% of 694 decided appeals succeeded
• Refugee and protection: 21% of 6,657 decided appeals succeeded

What the tribunal outcomes mean

Residence appeals are determined under section 188 of the Immigration Act 2009, and the tribunal has more options than a simple yes or no. It can confirm Immigration New Zealand's decision as correct, which dismisses the appeal. It can find the decision incorrect and allow the appeal. It can cancel the decision and return the application to Immigration New Zealand for assessment as if it were a new application, which this page counts as a success because the decline is set aside. Finally, where the decision was correct but the appellant has special circumstances, it can recommend that the Minister of Immigration consider an exception to instructions; a minority of those referrals end in a grant of residence, and only those recorded grants are counted as successes here.

Deportation appeals on humanitarian grounds turn on whether it would be unjust or unduly harsh to deport the appellant, balanced against the public interest. Refugee and protection appeals apply the Refugee Convention and protected person grounds. Both are decided as allowed or declined, which maps directly to the success rates above.

Representation and outcomes

The tribunal records who appeared for each appellant, which makes one comparison possible: outcomes for appellants with professional representation (a lawyer or licensed immigration adviser) against outcomes for appellants who represented themselves. Represented appellants succeeded more often in nearly every appeal type: 50% against 41% in skilled migrant appeals, 56% against 39% in partnership appeals, 40% against 24% in non-resident deportation appeals, and 34% against 6% in refugee and protection appeals.

Read the gap carefully: it is a correlation, not proof that representation causes the difference. Professionals decline hopeless cases, so their caseload is stronger to begin with, and appellants with stronger cases may be more willing to pay for help. What the gap does show is that the appeals professionals choose to run succeed at materially higher rates — and individual professionals' published appeal records can be compared on this directory: every lawyer and adviser profile with tribunal appearances shows their cases and outcomes by appeal type, and the directory search can filter and sort by appeal experience.

What these numbers cannot tell you

A base rate is not your chance of winning. Appeals are decided on their own facts, and the strongest predictor of an outcome is the strength of the underlying case, not the category average. The rates also reflect decades of shifting immigration instructions; the mix of cases the tribunal hears changes as policy changes.

Deadlines are strict and vary by appeal type — for most residence appeals it is 42 days from when you are notified of Immigration New Zealand's decision, and some other appeal rights are shorter. If you are considering an appeal, check the tribunal's official guidance immediately and consider getting advice from a licensed immigration adviser or an immigration lawyer with appeal experience. How this directory verifies professionals and compiles appeal records is set out in the methodology.