Licensed Immigration Advisers in New Zealand, Explained
New Zealand law says anyone who gives advice on New Zealand immigration matters must be licensed or exempt from licensing. The Immigration Advisers Authority issues the licences, sets a Code of Conduct and keeps a public register. Advising without a licence is a criminal offence carrying up to NZ$100,000 and seven years' imprisonment, whether the person charged for it or not.
Quick Facts
| Governing law | Immigration Advisers Licensing Act 2007, with supplementary detail in the Immigration Advisers Licensing Regulations 2008 |
| Regulator | Immigration Advisers Authority (IAA) |
| Public register | app.mbieregisters.govt.nz, reached from www.iaa.govt.nz |
| Cost to check someone | Free, and takes about a minute |
| Who must hold a licence | Anyone giving New Zealand immigration advice, in New Zealand or overseas, unless they fall inside an exempt category |
| Advising without a licence | Up to NZ$100,000 and/or 7 years' imprisonment |
| 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 |
| If you name an unlicensed adviser | INZ "will refuse to accept or will decline the application" |
| Published fee scale | None. Advisers set their own fees |
| Information checked | August 2026 |
The rule, in one sentence
Immigration New Zealand states it plainly: "Anyone who gives advice on New Zealand immigration matters must be licensed or exempt from licensing."
That is broader than most people expect, and it is broader than the equivalent rules in several other countries. It does not matter whether the person is in Auckland or in Delhi. It does not matter whether they call themselves an adviser, a consultant, an agent or a coach. It does not matter whether they charged you. The statutory definition of immigration advice covers advice given "whether or not for gain or reward", so a free service is regulated in exactly the same way as a paid one.
What the rule turns on is not the job title and not the money. It turns on whether someone is applying immigration knowledge to a particular person's situation. That distinction is set out in detail on what counts as immigration advice, and it is the reason this page can exist while a person-by-person consultation service could not.
Three bodies run the system
New Zealand splits the regulation of immigration advisers across three separate organisations. Knowing which is which saves a great deal of time if something goes wrong.
| Body | What it does |
|---|---|
| Immigration Advisers Authority (IAA) | Sets and monitors standards through competency requirements and a Code of Conduct. Maintains the public register of licensed advisers |
| Registrar of Immigration Advisers | Makes the actual licensing decisions, and receives complaints about licensed advisers |
| Immigration Advisers Complaints and Disciplinary Tribunal | Hears complaints referred to it, and licensing appeals. It can cancel a licence or order an adviser to refund their fees |
The Tribunal sits under the Ministry of Justice, alongside the Immigration and Protection Tribunal, which is a different body doing a different job. The Immigration and Protection Tribunal hears appeals against INZ decisions. The Immigration Advisers Complaints and Disciplinary Tribunal hears complaints about advisers. People mix them up constantly, and sending a complaint to the wrong one costs weeks. For the appeals body, see Immigration and Protection Tribunal appeals.
The IAA describes its own role as being "responsible for maintaining a register of licensed immigration advisers and protecting people who receive immigration advice."
Who pays for all of this
Part of the immigration levy charged on every visa application funds the Immigration Advisers Authority. That levy is one of the components hidden inside the "from $X" totals INZ publishes — a Visitor Visa's $441, for example, is a $300 application fee, a $41 immigration levy and a $100 International Visitor Levy. The breakdown is set out in visa fees, levies and fee bands explained.
In other words, every applicant has already paid a small amount toward the regulator that keeps the register. Using it costs nothing more.
What a licensed adviser owes you
The IAA sets both competency standards and a Code of Conduct. Licensed advisers must:
- be honest, professional and respectful
- provide ongoing, timely updates on your application
- charge fees that are fair and reasonable
- meet the IAA's competency standards and follow its Code of Conduct
Those four obligations are short but they carry weight, because they are enforceable. "Fair and reasonable" is not a suggestion — it is the standard the Tribunal applies when it decides whether to order a refund. "Ongoing, timely updates" is the obligation most often breached in practice, and it is a legitimate basis for a complaint on its own.
An unlicensed person owes you none of this. There is no code, no complaints body with jurisdiction, and no refund power.
What a licence does not tell you
A licence tells you that a person has met the IAA's competency requirements and is subject to the Code. It does not tell you they are good at your particular type of application, and it does not tell you their fee is reasonable for the work.
There is also one thing this site will not tell you. Immigration adviser licences are described online as coming in several categories, with different scopes. INZ's own regulation page refers to applying for, renewing and upgrading a licence, but does not list the categories, and no primary source confirming the category names and their scope could be verified as at August 2026. Rather than repeat a structure we cannot substantiate, we say this: if the scope of a particular adviser's licence matters to you, the register entry itself is the authority, and the IAA is the body to ask. Do not take a category name from a third-party page — including this one.
What is not immigration advice
The Act carves out a set of activities that need no licence at all. You do not need a licence if you only:
- provide generic, publicly available information — INZ's example is "generic information from this website"
- submit an application on someone else's behalf using only information they gave you
- tell someone to get advice from a person who can legally give it, for example by handing them a list of licensed advisers
- work as an employee of a licensed adviser or a lawyer doing clerical work — filing, data entry and the like
- provide translation or interpreting services
- help a migrant settle into community life — finding a school, finding a house
That list is the reason a friend can help you type your form, a translator can translate your documents, and a website can publish what the rules say. It is also the reason none of those people can tell you which visa to apply for.
The penalties are unusually severe
| Offence | Maximum penalty |
|---|---|
| Providing immigration advice without a licence | Up to NZ$100,000 fine 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 |
| Other offences — providing false information, obstruction, failure to notify | Up to NZ$10,000 |
Seven years' imprisonment for unlicensed immigration advice is severe by international standards. The employment offence is the one people miss: an employer, education agent or recruiter who engages an unlicensed adviser commits an offence in their own right. The full table and who else in the chain is exposed is covered in the penalties for giving unlicensed immigration advice.
The consequence that hurts you, not the adviser
There is a separate consequence that falls on the applicant rather than the offender. If an application names an adviser who is not on the register, INZ "will refuse to accept or will decline the application."
So an unlicensed adviser does not merely take your money. They can cost you the application as well — the fee, the levy, the International Visitor Levy, and the time. None of that is refunded when an application is declined after processing.
How advisers actually work inside the system
Licensed advisers, lawyers, education agents, education providers, employers and travel agents can lodge applications for other people through Immigration Online. Each of them needs their own Immigration Online account and RealMe login — an adviser should never be asking for your personal login. The account shows the adviser a list of the applications they are submitting on behalf of clients.
Applicants can also share an application with an adviser using a unique sharing ID rather than handing over credentials. See the Immigration Online account guide and applying for a visa on behalf of someone else.
There is one thing no adviser can do, licensed or not: make a decision come faster. INZ publishes no expedited, premium or paid fast-track channel, and no such fee appears in its fee guide. Any adviser who offers speed for money is offering something that does not exist — see can you pay to speed up a New Zealand visa.
Step 1: Find the person on the register
Search the IAA public register at https://app.mbieregisters.govt.nz/iaa/ui/start/searchForAnOccupationalRegistration, reached from www.iaa.govt.nz. Search by the adviser's name, and by the company name if the name search returns nothing. A step-by-step walkthrough is in how to check an immigration adviser's licence.
Step 2: Check whether they are exempt instead
Some people may legally advise without appearing on the register — most commonly New Zealand lawyers holding a current practising certificate. A lawyer's absence from the IAA register is normal. An "immigration adviser's" absence is not. The full exempt list is in who is exempt from immigration adviser licensing.
Step 3: Look up their disciplinary history
The IAA publishes judicial and tribunal decisions alongside the register, the Code of Conduct, the competency standards and its enforcement policy. Past findings against an adviser are public. Read them before you engage anyone, not after.
Step 4: Get the agreement in writing before you pay
The Code requires fees that are fair and reasonable, and the Tribunal can order a refund of fees. Both of those are far easier to enforce when there is a written agreement setting out the scope of work and what it costs. What that document should contain is set out in what immigration advisers charge in New Zealand.
What this website is
This site publishes general information about published New Zealand immigration rules, fees and processes. That activity sits inside the exemption in the Act for publicly available information. It is not immigration advice, and it is not tailored to anyone.
We do not assess whether you meet a requirement, we do not tell you which visa to apply for, and we do not comment on individual applications. Where a situation plainly needs advice on the facts, the right step is a licensed immigration adviser or a New Zealand lawyer — and the register above is where you start.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need a licensed immigration adviser to apply for a New Zealand visa?
No. There is no requirement to use an adviser for any New Zealand visa. Most applications are lodged by applicants themselves through Immigration Online. A licence is a requirement on the person giving advice, not a requirement on you.
Is it illegal to give immigration advice for free in New Zealand?
The statutory definition of immigration advice applies "whether or not for gain or reward", so charging nothing is not a defence. There is a narrow exemption for advice given in an informal or family context that is not provided systematically or for a fee, which is what keeps ordinary conversations between friends outside the regime.
What happens if my adviser is not on the IAA register?
Two things. INZ will refuse to accept or will decline an application that names an unlicensed adviser. And the person may have committed a criminal offence carrying up to NZ$100,000 and seven years' imprisonment. The complaint route depends on whether they were ever licensed — see how to complain about an immigration adviser.
Can an overseas agent give New Zealand immigration advice?
Only inside the exemptions. There is an exemption for advice about student visa applications given outside New Zealand. It does not extend to work, visitor or residence applications — an offshore agent advising on those must hold a New Zealand licence.
Are immigration lawyers licensed by the IAA?
No. New Zealand lawyers holding a current practising certificate are exempt from the licensing regime and will not appear on the IAA register. They are regulated by the New Zealand Law Society instead. The differences are compared in immigration adviser or immigration lawyer.
How much does a licensed immigration adviser cost in New Zealand?
Neither INZ nor the IAA publishes a fee scale, and almost no adviser publishes their prices. The Code requires fees to be fair and reasonable, and the Tribunal can order a refund, but there is no benchmark rate. The practical approach is to get several written quotes for the same defined scope of work.
Who regulates immigration advisers in New Zealand?
The Immigration Advisers Authority sets the standards and keeps the register. The Registrar of Immigration Advisers makes licensing decisions and handles complaints. The Immigration Advisers Complaints and Disciplinary Tribunal hears referred complaints and can cancel a licence or order a refund.
