How we work
Immigration New Zealand is the operational processing arm of New Zealand’s immigration system. Our ambition is to provide a trusted and effective immigration service for all our customers.
The INZ Story: An insight into the work we do
00:00:04 Alison McDonald — Head of Immigration New
Zealand
Immigration is vital to New Zealand's
economy, to its workforce and to our communities. It
reunites families. It provides employers with the
key skills that they need, and it plays a really
important part in our international and humanitarian
commitments. There are a lot of moving parts
when it comes to managing immigration, and here at
Immigration New Zealand we're just one part of that
bigger immigration system. We work with colleagues
across MBIE and other government departments both
here in New Zealand and overseas. We also work with
businesses, with the immigration industry in New
Zealand and with communities themselves, where
migrants hope to settle.
Our job is to take the
policy settings and apply them to people who want to
come to New Zealand. We do that through our four
core roles.
00:00:52 Tasmia Isa — Immigration Officer
We grant
visas to people who New Zealand needs to work,
study, visit or settle here.
00:00:59 Salā Imakulata Teofilo — Senior Border
Officer
We make sure that the people who come to
New Zealand are allowed to do so.
00:01:04 Isaac O’Rourke — Verification Officer
We
play our part in the global immigration system
together with our border partners, to keep New
Zealand safe.
00:01:10 Qemajl Murati —Head of Refugee Quota
Programme
We help migrants and refugees who make
New Zealand their new home.
00:01:14 Alison McDonald — Head of Immigration New
Zealand
At Immigration New Zealand, our ambition
is to provide a trusted and world class immigration
system for all of our customers. Our work is broad
and it's diverse. We know that it has a really big
impact on all of our customers, but also on New
Zealand — and that's not something we take lightly.
00:01:30 Tasmia Isa — Immigration Officer
We work
towards bringing in skilled workers so that also
enhances the workforce and also, you know, helps
boost the economy. Some of the applicants we have do
have very challenging situations where they come
from. I understand that coming to a new country and
migrating to a new country can be a very difficult
process, but being able to make it easy and make it
achievable is something that really fills up my
heart.
00:01:59 Salā Imakulata Teofilo — Senior Border
Officer
My role is to facilitate legitimate
travellers and mitigate risks offshore. The
work that we do is in line with the immigration
legislation and there are criteria for entry into
New Zealand as well as before passengers are
travelling to New Zealand. We want to encourage our
customers to do the right thing. It makes me feel
very, very proud that I am the first person that
they come into contact with when they travel to New
Zealand.
00:02:33 Isaac O’Rourke — Verification
Officer
Most of our work revolves around
supporting our community. We also work with
employers. We work with migrants to ensure that
there's a healthy balance within the immigration
system. You can start the day looking at fraudulent
documentation and then you can end the day helping
migrants in need. At Immigration New Zealand we're
big about striking the balance. A healthy
immigration system allows for economic growth. It
allows for families to reunify. It helps for us to
protect those who are vulnerable.
00:03:03 Qemajl Murati —Head of Refugee Quota
Programme
My passion is really in the area where
I work now with refugees, resettling refugees. There
is nothing more rewarding than [when] we see
people's lives being restored, but also when we see
families being reunified, it's just something that
is hard to describe in words. The work that I do and
the resettlement programme that we have for refugees
is very, very important for us as a country.
Refugees that come here, yes, they flee their
countries, but they bring with them their
experiences. They bring their knowledge, they bring
their diversity — makes us all the more diverse, we
are the better. It makes us rich — both in culture,
and in all aspects of life.
00:03:43 Alison McDonald — Head of Immigration New
Zealand
Every day, our people are helping
migrants in different ways and across all our work
there is a balance to strike. We know our
country is a fantastic place to come to work, to
visit, to study and to live. We need to make it
easy for the people we want to invite here to use
the immigration system that's both easy for them to
come to New Zealand and easy for them to do the
right thing when they're here. We also need to
keep people safe by protecting New Zealand from
immigration risk. We will continue to work hard
to play our part in the immigration system and to
make sure that New Zealand has access to the skills
and people that it needs.
Immigration’s contribution to New Zealand
Immigration makes a vital contribution to New Zealand’s economy, workforce and community. It reunites friends and families, provides employers with access to key skills and capital, contributes to New Zealand’s international and humanitarian commitments, and supports the security and integrity of our border.
Since New Zealand’s border opened after COVID-19, interest in visiting and working here has continued to grow, with the volume of work across the immigration system showing just how integral immigration is to New Zealand.
In the 2025 calendar year (1 January to 31 December 2025):
- more than 1 million visa applications were decided for people to visit, work, study or live in New Zealand
- more than 470,000 visitor visa applications were decided and 89% were approved
- more than 1.6 million NZeTA (New Zealand Electronic Travel Authority) requests were issued, including more than 31,000 eligible China and Pacific nationals able to travel from Australia with an NZeTA
- more than 45,000 working holiday visa applications were decided and 98% were approved
- more than 97,000 student visas were decided and 98% were approved
- more than 43,000 Accredited Employer Work Visa (AEWV) applications were decided and 91% were approved
- more than 17,500 employers became accredited, or had their accreditation renewed under the AEWV policy, which brought the total number of current accredited employers to more than 27,000
- nearly 2,500 AEWV post-accreditation checks were completed on more than 2,300 employers
- 395 accreditations were suspended and more than 470 revoked
- more than 18,000 Recognised Seasonal Employer (RSE) applications were decided and 99% were approved
- more than 1,500 refugees made New Zealand their home through New Zealand’s Refugee Quota Programme and the Community Refugee Sponsorship programme
- 550 people were resettled under the Refugee Family Support Category
- 1,330 asylum claims were decided
- 16 people were successfully prosecuted for breaching immigration laws, from 11 investigations
- 151 infringement notices were issued for immigration offences, totalling NZD $520,000
- 398 investigations were carried out into immigration breaches, including 197 cases with allegations of migrant exploitation.
Who we are
The primary role of the New Zealand immigration system is to facilitate the travel of visitors, students, workers, families and refugees to New Zealand, and protect New Zealand from immigration risk.
Immigration New Zealand (INZ) is the operational processing arm of New Zealand’s immigration system and has 4 core roles:
- We grant visas to people who New Zealand needs to work, visit, study or settle here.
- We ensure that people crossing the border and staying in New Zealand are entitled to do so.
- We help migrants and refugees to make New Zealand their home.
- We play our part in the global immigration system, together with our border partners to keep New Zealand safe.
INZ sits within the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) and is just one part of the wider immigration system. The immigration system also includes MBIE’s compliance centre of expertise (Te Whakatairanga Service Delivery) who carry out onshore investigation and compliance activity, provide services to license people who provide New Zealand immigration advice, and provide customer support through MBIE’s Customer Service Centre.
The immigration system works within the policy framework set by the Immigration Act 2009, associated regulations and immigration instructions authorised under the Act. MBIE’s immigration policy function supports Ministers to make changes to immigration policy settings through Cabinet or Parliament.
INZ works closely with the New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, other border agencies, and our international partners, in particular other Migration 5 countries (Australia, Canada, United States and the United Kingdom). This allows us to identify risk, improving the integrity of the immigration system.
Working with international organisations
Our ambition
INZ’s ambition is to provide a trusted and effective immigration service for all our customers.
We aim to strike the balance between facilitating the entry of the people New Zealand needs to work, visit, live or study here and protecting New Zealand from immigration risk.
INZ is committed to being a customer-centric organisation that is simple to engage with, helps to keep our customers safe and provides certainty for them.
We want to ensure our customers know what the visa process means for them and make it easy to apply for a visa and comply with their visa obligations.
We want to make sure our customers know when they can expect a decision on their application. We also want customers to know what New Zealand offers them so they can thrive while they’re here.
What our customers can expect
INZ has worked to better understand what customers need so we can improve our online forms and information. We are continuing to improve our online platform and move more visa categories online. This will allow customers to track their application’s progress in real time.
INZ receives high volumes of visa applications. All applications are assessed against the relevant immigration requirements in a fair and transparent way.
The time it takes to decide an application may vary depending on the type of application, the applicant’s circumstances and whether the application has all the necessary information and documents.
Processing visa applications often takes longer when applicants have not submitted all the required information in their application or during visa peak periods.
In order to reduce delays, we ask all visa applicants or their licensed immigration advisers and representatives to:
- understand fully the visa criteria or seek further advice from a licensed immigration adviser or lawyer if it is not clear, before submitting a visa application
- submit all the required application documentation and evidence in full when applying
- be aware of the processing times for the visa and allow plenty of time for the application to be processed
- be sure and not plan, book or confirm any immediate non-refundable or non-changeable arrangements in New Zealand until the outcome of the visa is confirmed.
INZ has information on processing timeframes for each visa category. As these timeframes can change, usually due to high demand in peak periods, we ask customers to plan accordingly and make sure they are applying in plenty of time.