Immigration Adviser: Who Can Legally Advise You on a Visa

Immigration advice for a New Zealand visa application must come from a licensed immigration adviser (LIA), or a person who is exempt from being licensed. Anyone can help you fill in an application form using details you provide, but any advice tailored to your individual needs and situation must come from someone approved by Immigration New Zealand (INZ) or exempt. Before you engage anyone, check the Immigration Advisers Authority (IAA) register to confirm the person has a current licence of the right type. If an adviser named in an application does not appear on the register and is not exempt, INZ will refuse to accept or will decline the application, and will contact the IAA because providing immigration advice while neither licensed nor exempt is an offence.

What counts as immigration advice

Advice is any information or assistance a person provides that is tailored to your individual needs and situation. The Immigration New Zealand (INZ) definition covers a specific set of activities, including:

• what type of visa you should apply for
• what supporting documents you might need
• how you should answer a question in the form
• how you should answer any follow-up questions from INZ
• what type of visa you may be eligible for at a later date

It does not include help to simply fill in an application form, using details you provide. That distinction matters. A friend, relative or a paid helper can sit with you and transcribe your answers into the form, but the moment they start advising you on which visa to choose or how to answer a question, they are giving immigration advice and must be licensed or exempt.

The Immigration Advisers Authority (IAA) is responsible for licensing immigration advisers and regulating the advice they give. The IAA also provides information on who can advise you, how much it should cost, and any limits on the advice they can give. For example, education providers not in New Zealand can give immigration advice without being licensed but are restricted to advice about student visas.

Who can give immigration advice

Only two categories of people may lawfully give you immigration advice: licensed immigration advisers, and people who are exempt from licensing. The exemption is not a free pass — it applies only to people whose job or responsibility gives them a defined role.

Outside New Zealand, the exempt categories are:

• education agents who are permitted to give immigration advice about student visas
• employees of the New Zealand Government who provide immigration advice as part of their job
• foreign diplomats and consular staff

Inside New Zealand, the exempt categories are:

• lawyers with a current certificate to practise
• Members of Parliament and staff who provide immigration advice as part of their job
• government employees who give immigration advice as part of their jobs
• volunteers at Community Law and the Citizens Advice Bureau (CAB)

If someone does not fall into one of these categories and is not a licensed immigration adviser, they cannot lawfully give you immigration advice. The INZ website is explicit that advice must come from valid experts.

Licensed immigration advisers

A licensed immigration adviser must hold a current licence of the right type from the IAA. Before you ask an immigration adviser to help you, check the IAA register to make sure the person has a current licence, and the right type of licence. Licensed immigration advisers must meet competency standards and follow a Code of Conduct set by the IAA.

The IAA register is the authoritative list. If you have any difficulty finding a licensed immigration adviser, or you want to complain about one, you can contact the IAA directly. The IAA also provides information on who can advise you, how much it should cost, and any limits on the advice they can give.

If an adviser named in an application does not appear on the register of immigration advisers and is not exempt, INZ will refuse to accept or will decline the application. This is a hard consequence, not a warning. INZ will also contact the IAA, because if someone provides immigration advice when they are neither licensed nor exempt, they are committing an offence.

Immigration adviser vs immigration lawyer

A lawyer is not a licensed immigration adviser, but a lawyer with a current certificate to practise in New Zealand is exempt from licensing and may give immigration advice. This is a distinct category from a licensed immigration adviser. The two are regulated differently: licensed immigration advisers are regulated by the IAA, while lawyers are regulated by the New Zealand Law Society.

The Law Society website can help you find a lawyer or legal firm, or check that your existing lawyer has a current certificate to practise in New Zealand. If you are choosing between a licensed immigration adviser and a lawyer, both are legally able to advise you. The question is which one holds the right credentials for your situation and which one you can verify.

Both a licensed immigration adviser and a lawyer can request visa information about you from INZ. They must confirm that they are representing you, the visa applicant, and that their professional details are listed on the Advisers Authority or Law Society websites. The types of information INZ can share with them include the visa you currently hold, applications you have completed, your previous visas, the processing of any current applications, medical examinations you have had, police certificates you have provided, your travel movements, word-for-word copies of any file notes, and how to contact INZ staff dealing with your application.

How to verify an adviser

Verification is a two-step process. First, identify which category the person claims to be in. Second, check the relevant register.

Adviser type	What to check	Where to check
Licensed immigration adviser	Current licence of the right type	IAA register of licensed immigration advisers
Lawyer	Current certificate to practise in New Zealand	New Zealand Law Society website
Education agent (outside NZ)	Permitted to give advice about student visas only	IAA information on who can give advice
Government employee, diplomat, MP, Community Law or CAB volunteer	Falls within exempt category	IAA information on who can give advice

If the person cannot be verified in the relevant register or does not fall within an exempt category, do not use them. The consequence of using an unlicensed adviser is not just a bad outcome for you — INZ will refuse to accept or decline the application.

Protecting yourself from immigration scams

Scams are a real risk when you are planning to get a visa to come to New Zealand. The INZ website lists specific signs of a scam. If you see these signs, stop and take extra precautions, ask questions and seek official advice.

• You are asked to pay for your job. New Zealand employers cannot charge you fees for a job or make you pay any of their recruitment costs, including indirectly through a third party who then demands you pay them. If you use a recruitment agency, be wary about any high fees they want to charge you directly. Any charges from a recruitment agency should reflect the service they provide you.
• You are told an adviser can guarantee an outcome or faster decision. Immigration New Zealand will not prioritise your application because you use an adviser, and only decides applications by assessing the information it has against immigration rules. You are not required to use an adviser.
• You are asked to lie. It is illegal to lie in order to qualify for a job or a visa. Your adviser or other third party is breaking the law if they advise you to do this. Any false statements you make will affect your current and future visa applications.
• You are told you do not have the same minimum employment rights as a New Zealander. This is not true. Everyone in New Zealand has the same minimum employment rights, including migrants, including the right to paid holidays and sick leave, and the right to complain about unsafe work practices.
• You are offered a package deal with accommodation. It is not common to have accommodation provided with a job in New Zealand. Only in some situations, like working on a farm or for an accommodation provider, does this make sense. Be wary about package offers with a visa, job and accommodation — scammers may try to charge you excessive amounts for accommodation.
• You are promised residence. A temporary visa will allow you to work and study, but there are no guarantees this will lead to residence. Scammers often overstate how likely residence is. Pathways to residence require certain skills, experience, qualifications or occupations.
• You are told you must use an adviser. You are not required to use an adviser to apply for a visa. You can apply on your own using information on the INZ website.
• You are asked to pay your visa fee or medical fees to a bank account. INZ will never ask you to pay for visa application fees by depositing money into a bank account. INZ only accepts payment through debit or credit card on its online and paper-based application forms, or at an approved Visa Application Centre if you are outside New Zealand. Only approved panel doctors and other registered doctors in your home country can accept payments for immigration medicals. INZ will never ask you to pay for medical checks; these payments should be made to the clinic of the panel doctor or registered doctor.

What to do next

If you decide to use an immigration adviser, check the IAA register before you ask them to help you. If you decide to use a lawyer, check the New Zealand Law Society website for a current certificate to practise. If you are applying on your own, you can find the visa you need and complete your visa application yourself using the INZ website. Each visa type has an application form and a guide; read the guide carefully before filling in the application form.

If you have concerns about an adviser, or you want to complain about one, contact the IAA directly. If you are concerned about a scam, contact INZ and seek official advice. Verify official INZ email addresses end with ‘immigration.govt.nz’ or ‘mbie.govt.nz’, and check the website address includes ‘.immigration.govt.nz’ exactly — scam website addresses can look similar.