Find an immigration lawyer in New Zealand

An immigration lawyer is a New Zealand lawyer who practises immigration law. In law, "lawyer" means a person holding a current practising certificate as a barrister or as a barrister and solicitor, and immigration law is not a separate licence. New Zealand lawyers are exempt from immigration adviser licensing under section 11 of the Immigration Advisers Licensing Act 2007, which is why an immigration lawyer is checked on the New Zealand Law Society register.

An immigration lawyer advises on visa and residence options and their risks, prepares and lodges applications, deals with Immigration New Zealand on a client's behalf, including responding to a letter setting out potentially prejudicial information, and represents people in appeals to the Immigration and Protection Tribunal. An immigration lawyer can also take a matter into the courts and act where immigration overlaps with criminal, employment or family law.

There is no set scale. Each firm sets its own fees, commonly a fixed fee for defined work or an hourly rate for open-ended matters. The Law Society's conduct and client care rules require a New Zealand lawyer to tell you in writing, before the work starts, the basis on which fees will be charged and when they are payable, and they must not charge more than a fee that is fair and reasonable for the work. Immigration New Zealand's own application fees are separate.

When a matter may go to court, such as an appeal from the Immigration and Protection Tribunal to the High Court on a point of law, which needs the court's leave, or judicial review of a decision. Appearing for someone in a New Zealand court is work the Lawyers and Conveyancers Act 2006 reserves to New Zealand lawyers with a current practising certificate. Deportation, criminal convictions and concerns about false or misleading information are other common reasons to look for an immigration lawyer.

Choose on experience with your kind of matter first and location second. Before you engage anyone, ask how the fee will be worked out, who will do the work, and what happens if the matter goes to the tribunal or a court. The written information an immigration lawyer must give you before starting sets out the fee basis, their indemnity insurance and how to complain. Published Immigration and Protection Tribunal decisions record who represented each appellant, and the profiles here show that record where one exists.

Search their name on the New Zealand Law Society's Public Register of Lawyers, which shows whether they hold a current practising certificate. Every immigration lawyer listed in this directory has been checked against that register. A business that describes its work as immigration law is not necessarily a law firm, so ask whether the person handling your matter holds a practising certificate.

Yes, and it is common. Immigration matters are filed and corresponded online, hearings at the Immigration and Protection Tribunal are usually on the papers, and most firms act nationally. Several cities have no immigration lawyer based there at all, so choose on experience with your type of matter first and location second.

The same way as any New Zealand lawyer: a law degree, the Professional Legal Studies Course, admission as a barrister and solicitor of the High Court, and a practising certificate from the New Zealand Law Society. There is no further immigration licence after that. The guide on becoming an immigration lawyer sets out each step.