How to Check an Immigration Adviser's Licence
Search the Immigration Advisers Authority public register at app.mbieregisters.govt.nz, reached from www.iaa.govt.nz. It is free, public and takes about a minute. If the person is not on it and is not a New Zealand lawyer, naming them on your application means INZ "will refuse to accept or will decline the application."
Quick Facts
| Where to check | The IAA public register: https://app.mbieregisters.govt.nz/iaa/ui/start/searchForAnOccupationalRegistration |
| How to reach it | From www.iaa.govt.nz, the Immigration Advisers Authority site |
| Cost | Free |
| Time | About a minute |
| What you search by | The adviser's name; try the company name as well |
| Who will not appear | New Zealand lawyers with a current practising certificate, and others in exempt categories — this is normal for them |
| If they are not there | INZ will refuse to accept or will decline an application naming them |
| Falsely claiming to be licensed | Up to NZ$10,000 and/or 2 years' imprisonment |
| Employing an unlicensed adviser | Up to NZ$10,000 and/or 2 years' imprisonment |
| Also published by the IAA | Code of Conduct, competency standards, enforcement policy, and judicial and tribunal decisions |
| Checked | August 2026 |
Why this check is worth doing before anything else
New Zealand does not treat an unlicensed adviser as a consumer problem. It treats it as a criminal offence, and it makes the applicant carry part of the loss.
INZ's position is that where an application names an adviser who is not on the register, it "will refuse to accept or will decline the application." That is not a warning about quality. It is a statement that the application itself fails. And INZ does not refund the application fee or the levies once an application has been processed, even where it is declined.
So the money at risk is not only what you paid the adviser. It is also the application fee, the immigration levy and the International Visitor Levy, plus the months it takes to start again. A one-minute search on a free public register is the cheapest insurance available in this system.
Step 1: Go to the register through iaa.govt.nz
Start at www.iaa.govt.nz, the Immigration Advisers Authority website, and follow its link to the Licensed Immigration Adviser Register. The register itself is hosted at:
https://app.mbieregisters.govt.nz/iaa/ui/start/searchForAnOccupationalRegistration
Type or paste that address rather than following a link sent to you by the person you are checking. An adviser who supplies their own "register link" is asking you to verify them against a page they chose. Older addresses for the register circulate widely online and no longer resolve, so if a link fails, go back to www.iaa.govt.nz and navigate from there rather than searching for another shortcut.
Step 2: Search the person, not the company
Search by the individual's full name. Licences are held by people, not by firms. A company can advertise "licensed immigration advisers" while the person actually handling your file is unlicensed staff, so the name that matters is the name of the person giving you advice.
If a name search returns nothing, try these before concluding anything:
- Spelling and name order. Many advisers are registered under a legal name that differs from the name they trade under. Try the surname alone.
- The company name. Some registers surface the business a licence holder is associated with.
- Ask them directly for their licence number and the exact name it is held under. A licensed adviser will give you both without hesitation. Reluctance at this point is the answer to your question.
Step 3: Read the entry, not just the fact it exists
A hit on the register is the start of the check, not the end. Read what the entry actually says about the person's current status. If anything in the entry is unclear — a status you do not recognise, a condition, a date that has passed — the IAA is the body to ask. Do not accept an interpretation of the register entry from the person being checked.
One thing this site will not do is describe adviser licence categories. Licences are commonly described online as coming in several types with different scopes, but INZ's regulation page does not enumerate the categories and no primary source confirming their names and scope could be verified as at August 2026. If the scope of a particular licence matters to your situation, the register entry and the IAA are the authorities on it.
Step 4: Check the disciplinary decisions
Alongside the register, the IAA publishes the Code of Conduct, competency standards, an enforcement policy, and judicial and tribunal decisions. That last one is the part almost nobody uses.
Decisions of the Immigration Advisers Complaints and Disciplinary Tribunal are public. If an adviser has previously been found to have breached the Code — failed to keep clients informed, charged fees found not to be fair and reasonable, or worse — that finding is searchable before you engage them. It costs nothing to look.
Step 5: Confirm how they will access your application
Licensed advisers apply on a client's behalf through Immigration Online using their own account and RealMe login. They do not need yours. An applicant can also share an application with an adviser using a unique sharing ID.
Anyone asking you to hand over your own RealMe credentials, or asking you to create an account in their office and then leave it with them, is not following the ordinary process. See the RealMe account guide and applying for a visa on behalf of someone else.
When someone is not on the register but is still allowed to advise
An empty search result is not automatically bad news. A defined group may give New Zealand immigration advice without a licence, and they will not appear on the IAA register:
| Not on the register, still permitted | Detail |
|---|---|
| New Zealand lawyers | Holding a current practising certificate as a barrister, or as a barrister and solicitor of the High Court of New Zealand. Employees of lawyers and of incorporated law firms are covered too |
| Community Law Centre staff and volunteers | Where one or more lawyers sit on the employing body or supervise its work |
| Citizens Advice Bureau staff and volunteers | New Zealand CAB only |
| Offshore student visa advice | Advice about student visa applications given outside New Zealand |
| MPs, their staff, and public servants | Only where giving immigration advice is part of their employment agreement |
| Foreign diplomats and consular staff | Under the Diplomatic Privileges and Immunities Act 1968 and the Consular Privileges and Immunities Act 1971 |
| Informal and family advice | Provided it is not systematic and not for a fee |
The practical test is simple. A lawyer's absence from the register is expected. An "immigration adviser's" absence is not. If someone tells you they are exempt, ask which category — and for a lawyer, ask for the name they practise under and check the New Zealand Law Society's register instead. The full detail is in who is exempt from immigration adviser licensing.
Note also how narrow the offshore exemption is. It covers student visa applications only. An agent overseas advising on a work, visitor or residence application is not exempt and must hold a New Zealand licence.
What to do if the person is not licensed and not exempt
Two separate offences may be in play, and they carry different penalties:
| Conduct | Maximum penalty |
|---|---|
| Giving immigration advice without a licence | Up to NZ$100,000 and/or 7 years' imprisonment |
| Falsely claiming to be a licensed immigration adviser | Up to NZ$10,000 and/or 2 years' imprisonment |
| Employing an unlicensed adviser | Up to NZ$10,000 and/or 2 years' imprisonment |
That third row matters to employers, recruiters and education agents. If your company engages someone to advise migrant staff and that person is unlicensed, the company has its own exposure. It is not only the adviser's problem.
Where the person was never licensed, the matter is criminal rather than a Code of Conduct complaint, and it goes to the Immigration Advisers Authority, which prosecutes. Where they were licensed, the Registrar and the Tribunal can act, and the Tribunal can order a refund of their fees. The routes are set out in how to complain about an immigration adviser. If money has already changed hands, start with you've paid an immigration scammer: what to do now.
A note on adviser websites
Across roughly thirteen New Zealand adviser firms surveyed in August 2026, many did not name their individual advisers or licence numbers on their own homepages. That is not evidence of wrongdoing — it is a website design habit — but it does mean you often cannot verify a firm from its own site.
Work in the other direction instead. Get the name of the individual who will handle your file, then check that name on the register. A firm's marketing is not a credential; the register is.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I know if my immigration adviser is licensed?
Search their name on the Immigration Advisers Authority public register at app.mbieregisters.govt.nz, reached from www.iaa.govt.nz. It is free and public. Search the individual's name rather than the company's, because licences are held by people.
Is the IAA register free to search?
Yes. It is a public register and there is no charge to search it. Any site that asks you to pay to check an adviser's status is not the register.
What if my adviser is not on the register?
If they are not a New Zealand lawyer or in another exempt category, they may not legally give you immigration advice, and INZ will refuse to accept or will decline an application that names them. Stop before lodging anything, and report the matter to the Immigration Advisers Authority.
Do immigration lawyers appear on the IAA register?
No. New Zealand lawyers with a current practising certificate are exempt from IAA licensing and are regulated by the New Zealand Law Society. Their absence from the IAA register is normal and expected.
Can I check an adviser's complaint history?
Yes. The IAA publishes judicial and tribunal decisions alongside the register, so previous findings against a named adviser are public and searchable before you engage them.
Does my adviser need my RealMe login?
No. Advisers apply on a client's behalf through Immigration Online using their own account and RealMe login. You can also share an application with them using a unique sharing ID. You should not be handing over your own credentials.
Can an unlicensed person just fill in my form for me?
Submitting an application on someone's behalf using only the information that person supplied does not require a licence. The moment they start interpreting the rules against your circumstances, choosing a visa for you, or drafting explanations of your history, it is immigration advice and it does require one.
