Immigration and Protection Tribunal (IPT)
The Immigration and Protection Tribunal is New Zealand's independent immigration appeal body. It is administered by the Ministry of Justice, chaired by a District Court Judge, and has 18 appointed members. It hears residence declines, deportation liability, and refugee and protected person matters.
Quick Facts
| Detail | |
|---|---|
| Administered by | The Ministry of Justice |
| Chaired by | A District Court Judge |
| Members | 18 appointed members |
| Governing law | Immigration Act 2009 |
| Residence appeal fee | NZD $964, GST inclusive |
| Deportation appeal fee | NZD $964, GST inclusive, for each deportation appeal type |
| Refugee and protected person appeals | No fee |
| Fee waiver | Not available. The fee must be paid or the appeal will not be accepted |
| Residence appeals decided | Generally within 10 to 12 months |
| Non-resident deportation appeals decided | Generally within 8 to 10 months |
What it hears
The Tribunal hears five things:
- Decisions about residence class visas
- Decisions about the recognition of a person as a refugee or protected person
- Liability for deportation
- Decisions to stop recognising a person as a refugee or protected person
- Decisions to cancel the recognition of a New Zealand citizen as a refugee or protected person
Why it matters — and what it does not hear
This is the single most important structural fact about New Zealand immigration appeals: a declined temporary visa has no right of appeal to a tribunal.
INZ's own decline page offers exactly two routes. A declined residence class visa goes to the Tribunal. A declined temporary visa — visitor, student, work — goes to internal reconsideration by a different immigration officer, and that is the end of the line.
Reconsideration is available only if you applied while in New Zealand, are still in New Zealand, hold a valid visa including an interim visa, and INZ receives the request within 14 calendar days of your receiving the decision. It costs NZD $220, you get one, and INZ states you cannot ask it to consider the decision a second time.
So the Tribunal is not the backstop most people assume. For the majority of visa declines, it is not available at all. Detail is at reconsideration vs appeal vs section 61.
The fees, and the rules around them
| Appeal type | Fee |
|---|---|
| Residence Appeal | NZD $964 |
| Deportation Appeal by a Resident or Permanent Resident | NZD $964 |
| Deportation Appeal by a Non-Resident | NZD $964 |
| Deportation Appeal — Cancelled Refugee and Protected Person | NZD $964 |
| Refugee and Protected Person Appeal | No fee |
Fees include GST. The Tribunal's published rules are firm: "The fee must be paid or your appeal will not be accepted. The fee cannot be waived." Where dependent children under 18 are included, no additional fee is charged. A fee is refunded only where the appeal is not accepted or is dispensed with under specified sections of the Immigration Act 2009 — withdrawing your appeal does not get your fee back.
That refugee and protection appeals carry no fee at all is a deliberate policy choice and worth stating plainly.
Deadlines — and why this page does not give you one
Every appeal type has a deadline. This site does not publish them as day counts.
The reason is specific. The individual deadlines sit inside Ministry of Justice guide documents for each appeal type, and whether particular periods run in calendar days or working days is not consistently resolved across the published sources. A reader who misses a statutory deadline because a website printed the wrong number loses the appeal permanently, and no correction afterwards fixes that.
Take your deadline from two places: the decision letter you received, and the Tribunal's own guide for your appeal type. The Tribunal states that each of its guides contains information on how to calculate the timeframe in which you can appeal. If the two disagree, get advice immediately.
The one deadline this site does state is INZ's, not the Tribunal's: reconsideration of a declined temporary visa must reach INZ within 14 calendar days of your receiving the decision.
How appeals are lodged
The Tribunal accepts appeals online through its own form, in person at the Tribunal or your nearest court, by email to [email protected], by courier to Level 1, 41 Federal St, Auckland, or by post to DX EX 11086, Auckland.
Two warnings from the Tribunal itself are worth repeating:
- Do not send anything to the Federal Street address by ordinary post. NZ Post will not deliver there and the appeal will not be received.
- In some cases an appeal is deemed to be withdrawn if you leave New Zealand. The Tribunal advises seeking legal advice before leaving the country while an appeal is on foot.
Email filing is accepted as filed on the day the Tribunal receives the email, though a hard copy must follow by courier or post.
What people get wrong about it
"I can appeal my visitor visa decline to the Tribunal." You cannot. Temporary visa declines have no tribunal route.
"The fee can be waived if I cannot afford it." It cannot. The Tribunal states this explicitly.
"Withdrawing gets my money back." It does not.
"An appeal lets me stay while it is heard." Do not assume this. Requesting reconsideration does not extend your current visa, and leaving New Zealand can be treated as withdrawing a Tribunal appeal. These are different mechanisms with different effects, and this is a point at which licensed advice matters.
Confusing it with the adviser tribunal. The Immigration Advisers Complaints and Disciplinary Tribunal deals with complaints about advisers. This one deals with visas and deportation.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the Immigration and Protection Tribunal?
New Zealand's independent immigration appeal tribunal, administered by the Ministry of Justice, chaired by a District Court Judge and made up of 18 appointed members. It operates under the Immigration Act 2009.
How much does an IPT appeal cost?
NZD $964, GST inclusive, for a residence appeal and for each deportation appeal type. Refugee and protected person appeals carry no fee. The fee cannot be waived, and the appeal will not be accepted without it.
How long does an IPT appeal take?
The Tribunal publishes that residence appeals are generally determined within 10 to 12 months, and non-resident deportation appeals within 8 to 10 months.
Can I appeal a declined work or visitor visa to the Tribunal?
No. Temporary visa declines go to internal reconsideration by INZ, not to the Tribunal. Reconsideration requires that you applied in New Zealand, are still in New Zealand and hold a valid visa, and must reach INZ within 14 calendar days.
What is the deadline to appeal to the IPT?
Take it from your decision letter and from the Tribunal's guide for your appeal type. This site does not print a day count, because the calendar-versus-working-day basis is unresolved across sources and a wrong figure would be unrecoverable for the reader.
Does leaving New Zealand affect my appeal?
It can. The Tribunal warns that in some cases an appeal is deemed to be withdrawn if you leave New Zealand, and advises seeking legal advice before departing. See immigration and protection tribunal appeals.
