Appealing to the Immigration and Protection Tribunal
The Immigration and Protection Tribunal is New Zealand's independent immigration tribunal. It hears five things: residence class visa decisions, refugee and protected person recognition, deportation liability, cessation of recognition, and cancellation of a citizen's recognition. Four of its five appeal types cost NZ$964; refugee and protection appeals are free.
Quick Facts
| Full name | Immigration and Protection Tribunal (IPT) |
| Administered by | Ministry of Justice — not INZ |
| Chaired by | A District Court Judge |
| Members | 18 appointed members |
| Governing statute | Immigration Act 2009 |
| Jurisdiction | Residence class visas · refugee and protected person recognition · deportation liability · cessation of recognition · cancellation of a citizen's recognition |
| No jurisdiction over | Declined temporary visas — visitor, student, work |
| Fees | NZ$964 for residence and all three deportation appeal types; no fee for refugee and protected person appeals |
| Fee waivable | No |
| Dependent children under 18 | Included at no additional fee |
| Published timeframes | Residence appeals generally 10–12 months; non-resident deportation appeals generally 8–10 months |
| [email protected] | |
| Deadline | Set in your decision letter and in the MoJ guide for your appeal type — the guide explains how to calculate it |
Ministry of Justice published information, checked 20 August 2026.
What the Tribunal is
The IPT is an independent judicial body, not an internal INZ review team. It is administered by the Ministry of Justice, chaired by a District Court Judge, and made up of 18 appointed members. Its powers come from the Immigration Act 2009.
That independence is the point. When INZ reconsiders one of its own temporary visa declines, the review is done by a different officer in the same agency. When the Tribunal hears a residence appeal, the decision-maker sits outside the agency that made the decision.
The five things the Tribunal hears
- 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
And the thing it does not hear, which brings more people to this page than anything else on the list:
The Tribunal has no jurisdiction over a declined temporary visa.
Visitor, student, work and most partner work and visitor visas are temporary entry class visas. A decline on any of them cannot be appealed here. The only review mechanism is reconsideration by INZ, and that requires you to have applied in New Zealand, to still be in New Zealand, and to hold a valid visa.
The five appeal types, and what each covers
| Appeal type | What it covers | Fee |
|---|---|---|
| Residence Appeal | INZ or the Minister declining a residence class visa application; cancelling a resident visa; refusing entry permission to a resident visa holder; denying a visa based on classified information | NZ$964 |
| Refugee and Protected Person Appeal | A refugee and protection officer declining a claim; declining to accept a claim for consideration; cancelling or ceasing recognition; refusing to consider a subsequent claim | No fee |
| Deportation Appeal by a Resident or Permanent Resident | Liability for deportation as a resident or permanent resident | NZ$964 |
| Deportation Appeal by a Non-Resident | Liability for deportation where you are unlawfully in New Zealand; your temporary or interim visa was granted in error; you held a visa under a false identity; sufficient reason to deport was determined; or you are a refugee or protection claimant who would be entitled to a humanitarian appeal | NZ$964 |
| Deportation Appeal – Cancelled Refugee and Protected Person | Liability for deportation as a cancelled refugee or protected person | NZ$964 |
Ministry of Justice, checked 20 August 2026. Fees include GST.
Two of these are easy to confuse, and confusing them is expensive. A Refugee and Protected Person Appeal — against a decision on recognition — carries no fee. A Deportation Appeal – Cancelled Refugee and Protected Person — against deportation liability after recognition was cancelled — carries the $964 fee. They are different appeals about different decisions. See refugee and protected person appeals.
The fee rules
- Fees include GST.
- "The fee must be paid or your appeal will not be accepted. The fee cannot be waived." There is no hardship exemption and no instalment provision published.
- Dependent children under 18 included in the appeal require no extra fee. One $964 payment covers the family unit included in that appeal.
- Withdrawing your appeal does not refund the fee.
- A refund is only available "if the appeal is not accepted or is dispensed with under section 194(6)(a) or 195(7)(b) of the Immigration Act 2009."
The unwaivable fee is worth pausing on. For a family that has just paid NZ$6,450 for a declined skilled residence application, another $964 is a real obstacle, and there is no published mechanism to reduce it. Refugee and protection appeals being free is the deliberate counterweight to that.
How long the Tribunal takes
The Tribunal publishes two determination timeframes:
- Residence appeals: generally determined within 10 to 12 months
- Deportation appeals by non-residents: generally determined within 8 to 10 months
Checked 20 August 2026. Timeframes for the other appeal types are not published in the same form.
Ten to twelve months is a long time to hold a life still, and it is the single most under-anticipated fact about the residence appeal route. It is also why the "leaving New Zealand" warning below matters so much: a year is long enough for a family emergency, a job offer or an expiring passport to force a trip abroad.
How to lodge an appeal
The Tribunal publishes five routes.
Online — via the Tribunal's own online form.
In person — at the Tribunal, or at your nearest court. Payment by EFTPOS, credit card, debit card or cash.
By email — to [email protected]. The Tribunal's wording: "You must also send a hard copy of your documents by courier or post but the Tribunal will accept it as filed on the day it receives your email." That last clause is useful: the email date is the filing date, provided the hard copy follows.
By courier — to Level 1, 41 Federal St, Auckland.
By post — to DX EX 11086, Auckland.
The postal trap
The Tribunal states: "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 does not arrive. There is no notification, no bounce, and no relief — the appeal is simply not received, and a deadline can pass while the sender believes it has been met. Use the courier route, the DX box, email, the online form, or lodge in person.
The trap that costs people their appeal
"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."
That is the Tribunal's own wording, and it is the most dangerous single sentence in this topic for people with a live appeal.
Read what it says carefully. It does not say "you may not leave". It says that in some cases, leaving is treated as withdrawing the appeal. Withdrawal is final, and withdrawing does not refund the fee.
Because the rule applies in "some cases" rather than all, the only responsible course is to get legal advice before booking travel, not after. A funeral overseas, a sick parent, a work trip, an expiring passport that must be renewed in person — any of these can arise inside a 10 to 12 month determination window, and none of them is worth an accidental withdrawal.
Step 1: Identify which of the five appeal types applies
Residence class decline, refugee or protection recognition, deportation liability as a resident, deportation liability as a non-resident, or deportation liability as a cancelled refugee or protected person. The appeal type determines the form, the fee and the guide.
Step 2: Find and read the Ministry of Justice guide for that appeal type
Each appeal type has its own guide, published as a PDF from the Tribunal's forms and fees page. The Ministry of Justice states that "each of the guides contains information on how to calculate the timeframe in which you can appeal". That section of your guide is the answer to the deadline question — not a number from a website.
Step 3: Confirm your deadline from your own decision letter and that guide
Both documents. Your decision letter records when you were notified, which is what the period runs from. The guide explains how the period is calculated.
Step 4: Complete the form and pay the fee together
For a Residence Appeal, the published steps are: complete the Residence Appeal form, sign steps 7 and 8, upload or attach your supporting documents, pay the fee, and submit. The Tribunal acknowledges receipt and may come back asking for corrections.
The Tribunal must receive both the appeal and the fee within the period. A form filed on time with the fee paid late is not a filed appeal.
Step 5: Keep supplying material after lodging, if it helps
The Tribunal's own wording: "You can still provide the Tribunal with further information or documents you think will help it to decide your appeal." Lodging is not a cut-off for evidence.
Deadlines — what this page will not tell you, and why
This page publishes no day count for any of the five appeal types, and that is a deliberate editorial decision rather than an omission.
Four of the five deadlines are set out only in the individual Ministry of Justice guide PDFs, which were not extracted in our research. The fifth is contested in the sources we checked as to whether the period is counted in calendar days or working days. Both problems produce the same risk: a reader who relies on a wrong number loses their appeal rights permanently, and no correction afterwards can restore them.
What binds you:
- The deadline written in your own decision letter or notice.
- The period published for your appeal type by the Tribunal, in the Ministry of Justice guide.
Go to justice.govt.nz/tribunals/immigration/immigration-and-protection/make-an-appeal/forms-and-fees/, download the guide for your appeal type, and read the section on calculating the timeframe. If the guide and your letter appear to disagree, that is a question for the Tribunal or for a lawyer, immediately.
Other Tribunal forms worth knowing about
- Authority to Act (Form 8) — required if you appoint a new representative after your appeal has been lodged.
- Withdrawal of Appeal (Form 9) — the formal withdrawal route. Withdrawing does not refund the fee.
- Witness summons — must be received by the witness no later than 24 hours before the hearing.
What is not published, and what we will not invent
Two things about IPT process are not published in a form we could verify, and this site does not fill either gap:
- Whether appeals are decided on the papers or at an oral hearing. Some tribunals decide most matters on the documents alone; some hold hearings as a matter of course. We could not establish which applies here, so we do not say.
- Whether an onward appeal to the High Court exists, whether leave is required, and what its deadline is. This is a real question for anyone who loses at the Tribunal, and the honest answer as at 20 August 2026 is that we could not verify it. A lawyer will know.
Filling those gaps with plausible-sounding text would be easy and would be wrong. If either matters to your case, ask a New Zealand lawyer.
Getting representation
Preparing and running a Tribunal appeal for a named person is immigration advice under the Immigration Advisers Licensing Act 2007. Unlicensed advice carries up to NZ$100,000 and seven years' imprisonment, and the Act applies "whether or not for gain or reward".
Who can lawfully act:
- Licensed immigration advisers, searchable on the Immigration Advisers Authority register at app.mbieregisters.govt.nz/iaa/ui/start/searchForAnOccupationalRegistration
- New Zealand lawyers with a current practising certificate, who are exempt from IAA licensing
- Community Law Centre employees and volunteers, exempt where a lawyer is on the employing body or supervising the work
For a tribunal matter running 10 to 12 months, with an unwaivable fee and an irreversible deadline, this is the part of the New Zealand system where representation matters most. See immigration adviser vs immigration lawyer and how to find a licensed immigration adviser.
Related routes that are not IPT appeals
- Reconsideration — internal INZ review of a temporary visa decline, NZ$220, onshore applicants with a valid visa only.
- Section 61 — a discretionary request to INZ for a visa while unlawfully in New Zealand. Not an appeal, and unavailable once a deportation order is issued.
- Special direction — a separately fee'd mechanism whose grounds and process INZ does not publish.
The three are compared side by side on reconsideration vs IPT appeal vs section 61.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the Immigration and Protection Tribunal in NZ?
An independent judicial body administered by the Ministry of Justice, chaired by a District Court Judge, with 18 appointed members, operating under the Immigration Act 2009. It hears appeals about residence class visas, refugee and protected person recognition, deportation liability, cessation of recognition, and cancellation of a New Zealand citizen's recognition as a refugee or protected person.
How much does an IPT appeal cost?
NZ$964 including GST for a Residence Appeal and for all three deportation appeal types. Refugee and Protected Person Appeals carry no fee. Dependent children under 18 included in an appeal cost nothing extra. Checked 20 August 2026.
Can the IPT fee be waived?
No. The Tribunal states: "The fee must be paid or your appeal will not be accepted. The fee cannot be waived." A refund is available only if the appeal is not accepted or is dispensed with under section 194(6)(a) or 195(7)(b) of the Immigration Act 2009. Withdrawing an appeal does not produce a refund.
Can I appeal a visitor or work visa decline to the Tribunal?
No. The Tribunal's jurisdiction does not extend to temporary entry class visas. Reconsideration by INZ is the only review route for a declined visitor, student or work visa.
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 generally within 8 to 10 months. Those are published expectations, not commitments on an individual file.
Can I leave New Zealand while my appeal is being decided?
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. Because it applies in "some cases" rather than all, take the advice before booking travel.
How do I lodge an 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. Do not use ordinary post to the Federal Street address — NZ Post will not deliver there and the appeal will not be received.
How long do I have to appeal to the Immigration and Protection Tribunal?
Check your own decision letter and the Ministry of Justice guide for your appeal type. The Ministry states that each guide explains how to calculate the timeframe in which you can appeal. This site does not publish day counts for Tribunal appeals because the published sources do not agree closely enough to make doing so safe.
