Immigration Advisers Authority (IAA)
The Immigration Advisers Authority (IAA) is the New Zealand government regulator of immigration advice. Part of the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment, it licenses immigration advisers, sets their competency standards and code of conduct, maintains the public register, and acts against unlicensed advice. Only a licensed adviser or an exempt person — mainly New Zealand lawyers — may legally be paid to give New Zealand immigration advice.
Figures derived from the IAA public register, refreshed monthly (currently August 2026). See register statistics for the full breakdown.
What does the IAA do?
The IAA was established under the Immigration Advisers Licensing Act 2007, which makes it unlawful to give New Zealand immigration advice without a licence unless exempt. Its work falls into five parts:
- Licensing. Assessing applicants against competency standards and issuing full, provisional and limited licences, renewed annually.
- Standards. Setting the competency standards and the code of conduct every licensed adviser must follow.
- The public register. Publishing every licence — holder, type, status and business — so anyone can verify an adviser. Check a licence here or on the official register.
- Complaints and discipline. Receiving complaints about licensed advisers and referring them to the Immigration Advisers Complaints and Disciplinary Tribunal (IACDT) — this site summarises every published IACDT decision.
- Enforcement. Investigating unlicensed immigration advice, which is a criminal offence under the Act. What counts as unlicensed advice.
Who must be licensed by the IAA?
Anyone who gives New Zealand immigration advice — onshore or offshore — must hold a current IAA licence unless the Act exempts them. The main exempt groups are:
- New Zealand lawyers with a current practising certificate — which is why immigration lawyers never appear on the IAA register (see adviser vs lawyer);
- people helping in an informal or family setting, provided the help is not systematic and not paid for;
- community law centre and citizens advice bureau staff;
- members of Parliament and their staff, and certain public servants acting in their official roles.
The authoritative list is in the Act itself and on the IAA website. Everyone else giving paid New Zealand immigration advice — including people calling themselves immigration consultants or immigration agents — needs a licence.
What licence types does the IAA issue?
- Full licence — advice on any immigration matter, unsupervised.
- Provisional licence — for new advisers, who must work under the direct supervision of a full licence holder.
- Limited licence — advice restricted to the specific matters listed on the licence.
Every profile on this site shows the licence type and status straight from the register, and listing order weights full licences ahead of provisional and limited ones.
The IAA and Immigration New Zealand are not the same thing
Both belong to the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment, but they do different jobs. Immigration New Zealand decides visa applications. The Immigration Advisers Authority regulates the people who give advice about those applications. Unhappy with a visa decision? That is an INZ or Immigration and Protection Tribunal matter (see appeal rights). Unhappy with your adviser? That is the IAA.
Check an adviser before you engage
Licence checks are free and take seconds. This site covers every adviser ever licensed by the IAA — including lapsed, surrendered and cancelled licences kept visible for due diligence — with each profile linking to the official register entry.
Frequently asked questions
- What is the Immigration Advisers Authority?
- The Immigration Advisers Authority (IAA) is the New Zealand government body that regulates immigration advice. It sits within the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment and licenses immigration advisers, sets their competency standards and code of conduct, maintains the public register, and acts against people who give immigration advice without a licence.
- Is the IAA part of Immigration New Zealand?
- No. Both sit within the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment, but they do different jobs: Immigration New Zealand decides visa applications, while the IAA regulates the people who give immigration advice. A complaint about a visa decision goes through INZ or the Immigration and Protection Tribunal; a complaint about an adviser goes to the IAA.
- How do I check whether an immigration adviser is licensed?
- Search the IAA's public register, or use this site's licence checker, which covers every adviser ever licensed, including lapsed, surrendered and cancelled licences. Every profile here links back to the official register entry so you can verify at the source.
- How do I complain about an immigration adviser?
- Complaints about licensed advisers go to the IAA, which can refer them to the Immigration Advisers Complaints and Disciplinary Tribunal (IACDT). The tribunal publishes its decisions, and this site carries summaries of all of them. Suspected unlicensed advice can be reported to the IAA directly.
- Do I have to use a licensed adviser to apply for a visa?
- No. You can always prepare and lodge your own application. But if you pay someone for New Zealand immigration advice, they must hold a current IAA licence or be exempt — mainly New Zealand lawyers with a current practising certificate. Using an unlicensed, non-exempt adviser is risky, and INZ must refuse applications they lodge on your behalf.
Sources
General information, not immigration advice. Figures as at August 2026 from the IAA public register.