17 guides
Glossary
Immigration New Zealand's vocabulary is unforgiving, and a term you half-understand can cost you an application. Plain-English definitions of every acronym and phrase you will meet, with links to the guides that explain them properly.
5 min read
Acceptable Standard of Health
An acceptable standard of health is the health bar every New Zealand visa applicant must clear. What INZ assesses, and the cost threshold that can fail you.
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5 min read
Character Requirements
Every New Zealand visa applicant must be of good character. What the requirement covers, when police certificates are triggered and what a waiver is.
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5 min read
Travel Conditions on a Resident Visa
Travel conditions control how long a New Zealand resident visa holder can re-enter the country. What they are and how a variation or a PRV removes them.
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5 min read
Licensed Immigration Adviser (LIA)
A licensed immigration adviser is legally permitted to advise on New Zealand visas. What the licence means, who is exempt, and how to check one is real.
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5 min read
Limited Visa
A limited visa is granted for one express purpose and carries no appeal right against deportation. What it means and who ends up holding one.
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5 min read
Permanent Resident Visa (PRV) and Resident Visa (RV)
A resident visa and a permanent resident visa are different documents in New Zealand. What separates a RV from a PRV, and why travel is the real difference.
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5 min read
Section 61 Request
Section 61 lets INZ grant a visa to someone unlawfully in New Zealand. What the request is, what it costs, and the hard limit that stops it working.
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5 min read
Interim Visa
An interim visa keeps you lawful in New Zealand while INZ decides your next application. How it is granted, what conditions apply and the travel trap.
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5 min read
New Zealand Electronic Travel Authority (NZeTA)
An NZeTA is New Zealand's electronic travel authority for visa-waiver travellers. What it is, who needs one, how long it lasts and what it costs.
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5 min read
ANZSCO (Australian and New Zealand Standard Classification of Occupations)
ANZSCO is the occupation classification behind New Zealand's skill levels. What the code means, where it is still used and how it differs from the NOL.
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5 min read
Deportation Liability
Deportation liability is the legal state of being liable for removal from New Zealand. What triggers it, when you can appeal, and when you cannot.
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5 min read
Immigration Advisers Authority (IAA)
The IAA licenses and regulates New Zealand immigration advisers. What it does, the three bodies involved, and where the public register actually lives.
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6 min read
Immigration and Protection Tribunal (IPT)
The IPT is New Zealand's independent immigration appeal tribunal. What it hears, what an appeal costs, and how long its determinations actually take.
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5 min read
The Immigration Median Wage
The immigration median wage indexes thresholds across New Zealand's visa system. What the current rate is, what it governs and what it no longer governs.
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5 min read
International Visitor Conservation and Tourism Levy (IVL)
The IVL is New Zealand's NZD $100 visitor conservation and tourism levy. Who pays it, who is exempt, when it is charged and why it is never refunded.
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5 min read
Market Rate
Market rate replaced the median wage as the AEWV pay test in March 2025. What INZ means by market rate and how employers are expected to evidence it.
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5 min read
National Occupation List (NOL)
The NOL is New Zealand's own occupation classification, released in November 2024 to replace ANZSCO. What it covers, what it does not, and why both are live.
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