How it works
Only a licensed immigration adviser or an exempt person, such as a New Zealand lawyer, can legally give immigration advice. The site helps you check that first, then find the right person by name, firm or city. You never pay this site.
Imogen Tavake-HartImmigration lawyer, AucklandImmigration lawyer
Harbourline Immigration LimitedWellington and AucklandImmigration adviser firm
Example- Licensed since
- 2014
- Published IPT appeals
- 26
Find someone licensed, check them, then contact them directly
The pictures show the site itself, filled in for Tamsin Okoro, an invented immigration adviser. Every page of the example is open to look around.
Search by name, licence number or firm
Free, and no account needed
Every licensed immigration adviser in New Zealand is here, from the IAA register, with the immigration lawyers and the firms they work at. Search one box, or browse by city.
- Immigration advisers, immigration lawyers and firms together
- A licence number finds its holder
- Browse by city, or on the map
Check the licence
Every profile links to the official register
A profile opens on the licence: whether it is current, what type it is, how long it has been held, and the button that takes you to the register to confirm it yourself.
- Licence status and type, from the register
- Years licensed and the licence number
- One press to check the official register
Read the record
Published decisions, matched with care
Published Immigration and Protection Tribunal appeals are counted by appeal type, with how many were allowed where the tribunal decided. The licence history and any published disciplinary decisions follow.
- Appeals by type, and how many were allowed
- A decision is shown only where it names the person with certainty
- The licence history, filing by filing
Look at the firm
Everyone there, and where they are
A firm's page lists its licensed immigration advisers or immigration lawyers by city, puts them on a map and adds up their published appeals: a record of its people, never a rating of the firm.
- Its people by office, with their licences
- A map of where they are
- Their published appeals, added up
Engage them directly
Between you and them: the site steps back
An immigration adviser must give you a written agreement when you both decide to go ahead, explain its significant terms, and have it signed or accepted in writing. A New Zealand lawyer must tell you in writing, in advance, how fees are charged and how to complain. The site is not part of the engagement and gives no immigration advice of its own.
- The services, and the fees with any GST, in writing
- Its significant terms explained to you
- Signed, or accepted in writing, by both of you
Start with a name, a licence number or your city
No account needed to search or check.
Who can legally help with your visa
New Zealand restricts who may give immigration advice, in New Zealand or from overseas. The directory lists the two groups who can, and says which one each person belongs to.
Immigration adviser vs immigration lawyer in New Zealand| Licensed immigration adviser | New Zealand lawyer | Anyone else | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Can give New Zealand immigration advice | Yes, under their licence | Yes, if they hold a current practising certificate. They are exempt from licensing | No, unless another exemption applies |
| Regulated by | The Immigration Advisers Authority | The New Zealand Law Society | No one licenses them. Giving immigration advice without a licence or an exemption is an offence the IAA can investigate |
| Where to check them | The IAA public register | The Law Society's Public Register of Lawyers | Check both registers. Someone on neither is not licensed and not a New Zealand lawyer |
| Complaints go to | The Registrar of Immigration Advisers at the IAA, who may refer it to the Immigration Advisers Complaints and Disciplinary Tribunal | The Law Society's Lawyers Complaints Service | Report them to the IAA, which investigates unlicensed advice |
What the site is
- It mirrors the registers
- Every licensed immigration adviser comes from the IAA register, re-read every month. Every immigration lawyer was researched from public sources, such as their firm's own site, and checked against the Law Society register for a current practising certificate.
- Order follows the record, not money
- Every list follows a method published in full, built on register facts such as licence standing and tenure. No plan, payment or relationship moves a listing. That rule is binding on us.
- It cites its sources
- Tribunal decisions, INZ forms, processing times and every figure on a page carry a date and a source. Where a fact cannot be verified against a primary source it is left out, not hedged.
Before you engage anyone
- Check the licence yourselfLook them up on the official register, not only here. A current licence or practising certificate is the minimum.
- Ask what the work will costFees are set by each person, so ask how they charge and what is included before you agree.
- Get it in writingAn immigration adviser must give you a written agreement when you both decide to go ahead. A New Zealand lawyer must set out in writing, in advance, how fees are charged and how to complain.
- Keep your own copiesKeep copies of everything you sign and everything lodged in your name. An immigration adviser must confirm in writing when an application is lodged, and give you a copy of it when you ask.
- Know where complaints goThe IAA for immigration advisers, the Law Society for New Zealand lawyers.
What people ask first
Answers describe how the site works, not any immigration adviser or immigration lawyer. Something not covered? Get in touch.
Ready to look?
Start with a name, a licence number or your city. Every profile links back to the official register, so you can confirm what you see.
Are you an immigration adviser or immigration lawyer? See what your page shows.