Appealing Deportation to the Immigration and Protection Tribunal
Three of the Tribunal's five appeal types concern deportation: by a resident or permanent resident, by a non-resident, and by a cancelled refugee or protected person. Each costs NZ$964, including GST, and the fee cannot be waived. Non-resident deportation appeals are generally determined within 8 to 10 months. You cannot appeal if the last visa you held was a limited visa.
Quick Facts
| Appeal body | Immigration and Protection Tribunal — Ministry of Justice, chaired by a District Court Judge |
| Deportation appeal types | Resident or Permanent Resident · Non-Resident · Cancelled Refugee and Protected Person |
| Fee | NZ$964 each, including GST. Cannot be waived |
| Dependent children under 18 | No additional fee |
| Published timeframe | Non-resident deportation appeals generally determined within 8 to 10 months |
| Absolute exclusion | "You cannot appeal if the last visa you held was a limited visa" |
| Appeal rights | Not automatic — they depend on your circumstances and when the liability arose |
| Leaving New Zealand | In some cases the appeal is deemed withdrawn. Get legal advice before leaving |
| Deadline | Stated in your notice and in the MoJ guide for your appeal type |
| Lodging | Online · in person · email [email protected] · courier · DX |
Ministry of Justice published information, checked 20 August 2026.
The three deportation appeal types
| Appeal type | Who it is for | Fee |
|---|---|---|
| Deportation Appeal by a Resident or Permanent Resident | People liable for deportation who hold or held a resident or permanent resident visa | NZ$964 |
| Deportation Appeal by a Non-Resident | People liable for deportation who are not residents — see the ground list below | NZ$964 |
| Deportation Appeal – Cancelled Refugee and Protected Person | People liable for deportation after their recognition as a refugee or protected person was cancelled | NZ$964 |
All three fees include GST. "The fee must be paid or your appeal will not be accepted. The fee cannot be waived." Dependent children under 18 included in the appeal cost nothing extra. Withdrawing an appeal does not produce a refund.
The grounds for a Deportation Appeal by a Non-Resident
The Tribunal publishes a specific list of situations this appeal covers:
- being unlawfully in New Zealand
- a temporary or interim visa granted in error
- holding a visa under a false identity
- sufficient reason to deport having been determined
- being a refugee or protection claimant who would be entitled to a humanitarian appeal
That last entry is the point at which the deportation route touches the humanitarian route. A humanitarian appeal exists within the New Zealand system and is referenced in the Tribunal's own ground list. Its criteria were not established from a primary source in our research, so this page does not set them out. If a humanitarian appeal is relevant to your situation, that is a question for a lawyer, and it is one worth asking early rather than late.
Note also that recognition appeals — appeals about whether someone is a refugee or protected person — are a different appeal type and carry no fee. See refugee and protected person appeals. Only the deportation appeal that follows a cancellation carries the $964 fee.
Before anything else: check what your last visa was
"You cannot appeal if the last visa you held was a limited visa."
INZ's own wording, checked 20 August 2026.
A Limited Visa is granted for a specific purpose and does not allow the holder to apply for other visas from within New Zealand. Recognised Seasonal Employer workers hold Limited Visas.
For anyone in that position, no deportation appeal is available and the $964 will not buy one. This is not widely published, and it should be the first thing checked, not the last. See the RSE visa explained and limited visas explained.
Beyond that exclusion, appeal rights are conditional rather than automatic. INZ publishes that you "may be able to appeal against your deportation liability, depending on your circumstances and the time the liability arose."
The trap that ends appeals
"In some cases, your appeal will be deemed to be withdrawn if you leave New Zealand. If you are planning to leave the country, you should seek legal advice before leaving."
— Immigration and Protection Tribunal
This is the most dangerous single sentence on this topic, and it is dangerous precisely because it reads like boilerplate.
Think about who is affected. Someone facing deportation is often being told, by everyone around them, that leaving voluntarily is the better course — and INZ itself publishes that voluntary departure before deportation is preferable because deportation negatively affects future visa eligibility. A person acting on that advice while holding a live appeal may extinguish the appeal by boarding the plane.
Both things can be true at once: voluntary departure may be better than deportation, and leaving may end an appeal that was going to succeed. Those two facts sit in tension, and resolving them for a specific person is legal work.
Get legal advice before you book travel. Not after. A withdrawn appeal is final and the fee is not refunded.
How long it takes
The Tribunal publishes that deportation appeals by non-residents are generally determined within 8 to 10 months, checked 20 August 2026. Timeframes for the other two deportation appeal types are not published in the same form.
How to lodge
The Tribunal publishes five routes, and they apply to every appeal type:
| Method | Detail |
|---|---|
| Online | Through the Tribunal's online form |
| In person | At the Tribunal or your nearest court — EFTPOS, credit card, debit card or cash |
| [email protected] — a hard copy must follow by courier or post, but the Tribunal accepts it as filed on the day it receives your email | |
| Courier | Level 1, 41 Federal St, Auckland |
| Post | DX EX 11086, Auckland |
The postal trap
"Do not send anything to this address by the ordinary post, because NZ Post will not deliver to this address and your appeal will not be received."
The Federal Street address is a courier address. An appeal sent there by ordinary post never arrives, nobody tells you, and a deadline passes while you believe the matter is in hand. Use courier, the DX box, email, the online form, or lodge in person.
Step 1: Confirm which of the three deportation appeal types applies
Resident or permanent resident, non-resident, or cancelled refugee and protected person. The type determines the form and the guide, though all three carry the same fee.
Step 2: Check the limited-visa exclusion and your appeal rights
If your last visa was a limited visa, INZ publishes that no appeal is available. Otherwise, appeal rights depend on your circumstances and when the liability arose — a matter for advice, not for self-assessment.
Step 3: Find your deadline in your notice and in the MoJ guide
This page publishes no day count for any deportation appeal, and that is deliberate. The deadlines live only in the Ministry of Justice guide PDFs and were not extracted in research.
What binds you:
- the period stated in your own notice, and
- the period published for your appeal type by the Tribunal.
The Ministry of Justice states that "each of the guides contains information on how to calculate the timeframe in which you can appeal". Read that section of your guide. It is at justice.govt.nz/tribunals/immigration/immigration-and-protection/make-an-appeal/forms-and-fees/.
The Tribunal must receive the appeal and the fee within the period. An appeal lodged in time with the fee paid late is not an accepted appeal.
Step 4: Get legal representation before you lodge
Preparing and running a deportation appeal for a named person is immigration advice under the Immigration Advisers Licensing Act 2007. Giving it without a licence carries up to NZ$100,000 and seven years' imprisonment, and the Act applies "whether or not for gain or reward".
- New Zealand lawyers with a current practising certificate are exempt from IAA licensing. INZ points to lawyers on deportation matters, and this is a jurisdiction where that pointer should be taken seriously.
- Licensed immigration advisers are on the Immigration Advisers Authority register at app.mbieregisters.govt.nz/iaa/ui/start/searchForAnOccupationalRegistration.
- Community Law Centre employees and volunteers are exempt where a lawyer is on the employing body or supervising the work — often the accessible route for someone with no income and no work rights.
See how to find a licensed immigration adviser and immigration adviser vs immigration lawyer.
Step 5: Lodge by a method that delivers, with the fee
And keep the acknowledgement. The Tribunal acknowledges receipt and may request corrections; respond to those requests promptly.
Other forms
- Authority to Act (Form 8) — if you appoint a new representative after lodging.
- Withdrawal of Appeal (Form 9) — the formal withdrawal route. No refund.
- Witness summons — must reach the witness no later than 24 hours before the hearing.
What is not published
Two questions come up on every deportation appeal, and neither is answered here because neither could be verified:
- Whether deportation appeals are decided on the papers or at an oral hearing.
- Whether an onward appeal to the High Court exists, whether leave is required, and what its deadline would be.
Both are proper questions for a lawyer. Guessing at them on a page read by people facing removal from the country would be irresponsible.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I appeal deportation in New Zealand?
INZ publishes that you may be able to appeal against deportation liability depending on your circumstances and the time the liability arose. Three deportation appeal types exist at the Immigration and Protection Tribunal, each costing NZ$964. You cannot appeal if the last visa you held was a limited visa.
How much does a deportation appeal cost in NZ?
NZ$964 including GST, for each of the three deportation appeal types. The fee cannot be waived and the Tribunal will not accept an appeal without it. Dependent children under 18 included in the appeal cost nothing extra.
How long does a deportation appeal take?
The Tribunal publishes that deportation appeals by non-residents are generally determined within 8 to 10 months. Checked 20 August 2026.
What is a humanitarian appeal in New Zealand?
A humanitarian appeal is referenced in the Tribunal's published grounds for a Deportation Appeal by a Non-Resident, which include being a refugee or protection claimant who would be entitled to one. Its criteria were not established from a primary source in our research, so this site does not set them out. Ask a New Zealand lawyer.
Can I leave New Zealand while my deportation appeal is pending?
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 leaving. That warning sits in direct tension with INZ's position that voluntary departure is preferable to deportation, which is why this needs legal advice rather than a rule of thumb.
Who cannot appeal deportation in New Zealand?
INZ publishes one absolute exclusion: you cannot appeal if the last visa you held was a limited visa. Recognised Seasonal Employer workers hold Limited Visas. Beyond that, appeal rights depend on your circumstances and when the liability arose.
How do I lodge a deportation appeal with the IPT?
Online through the Tribunal's form, in person at the Tribunal or your nearest court, by email to [email protected] with a hard copy to follow, by courier to Level 1, 41 Federal St, Auckland, or by post to DX EX 11086, Auckland. Never use ordinary post to the Federal Street address — the Tribunal warns that NZ Post will not deliver there.
How long do I have to lodge a deportation appeal?
The period is stated in your notice, and the Ministry of Justice guide for your appeal type explains how it is calculated. This site publishes no day count for deportation appeals because the figures live only in those guides and were not verified.
