Requests for Further Information (RFI) from Immigration New Zealand
An RFI is Immigration New Zealand asking for something it needs before it can decide your application. It is not a warning and not a decline. A PPI letter is a different thing entirely — that one puts adverse information to you for comment. The only deadline that governs your RFI is the one written in your own letter.
Quick Facts
| Item | Detail (as at August 2026) |
|---|---|
| What an RFI is | INZ asking for information or documents it does not yet have |
| What it is not | A decision, a decline, or a signal that something is wrong |
| How it arrives | Phone, email, or a notification in your Immigration Online account |
| Deadline | Set in your own letter. There is no published standard response period |
| Cost | None. Responding to an RFI is free |
| Effect on processing | The application waits. INZ names missing and further information as causes of delay |
| Different letter | A PPI letter puts potentially prejudicial information to you for comment |
| Important 2026 caveat | A missing police certificate can produce a decline with no RFI at all |
What an RFI actually is
INZ assesses an application against the requirements of the visa. Where something it needs is absent, unclear, out of date or inconsistent, it asks. That request is what people call an RFI — a request for further information.
INZ's own published position covers it in general terms: it will contact you if it needs more information from you, and applications take longer where information is missing or further information is needed. Contact comes "by phone, email, or through the online account."
Two things follow that are worth being clear about, because anxiety fills the gap otherwise:
- Receiving one is normal. Applications of any complexity generate them routinely. It is a procedural step, not a judgement.
- It is not a decision. Nothing has been decided. INZ is gathering what it needs in order to decide.
There is a short definition on what is an RFI letter.
RFI versus PPI — the distinction that matters most
These two letters look similar, arrive the same way, and mean very different things. Confusing them is the most consequential error in this area.
| RFI — Request for Further Information | PPI — Potentially Prejudicial Information | |
|---|---|---|
| What INZ is doing | Asking for something it does not have | Putting information it does have to you for comment |
| What it is about | A gap | A concern |
| The implicit question | "Please send us X" | "This is what is troubling us. What do you say?" |
| What it suggests | Nothing about the outcome | That there is something INZ may decide against you on |
| What a good response does | Supplies the thing | Addresses the concern |
A PPI letter is the step before a possible adverse decision, and it exists because natural justice requires that you be told what is being held against you and given a chance to respond. It is covered in full on PPI letters from Immigration New Zealand and defined at what is a PPI letter.
If you have a letter and are not sure which it is, read what it asks you to do. An RFI asks for documents or information. A PPI describes information INZ holds and invites your comment on it.
The deadline — and why we will not publish a number
Response periods for RFIs are set in the individual letter. INZ does not publish a standard period, and any site telling you an RFI gives you a fixed number of days is telling you something it cannot know about your letter.
So the rule for this page is simple and non-negotiable: the only authoritative deadline is the one written in your own letter. Read it, note the date, and work back from it.
If you cannot meet it, contact INZ using the contact details in the letter, before the date rather than after it. INZ sets the deadline and INZ is the only party that can vary it.
Step 1: Read the whole letter before you do anything
RFIs frequently ask for several things, and the second and third items are the ones people miss because the first was the obvious one. Note every item, and note the deadline.
Step 2: Answer every item, not most of them
A partial response is an unanswered request. If INZ asked for four things and receives three, the application is still waiting — and the clock has usually kept running.
If one item genuinely cannot be produced — a record that no longer exists, an authority that will not issue a document — say so explicitly in the response rather than leaving a silence where the item should be. A silence reads as an omission.
Step 3: Supply documents in the form INZ asked for
If a document is not in English, it needs a translation. Applicants from mainland China, Hong Kong and Macau supply a translation and the scanned original. See translation requirements.
Where INZ has named a specific form, supply that form. Where it has asked for a certificate from a particular authority, a substitute from a different one is not the same document.
Step 4: Respond through the channel the letter names
Usually that is your Immigration Online account. See uploading evidence to your visa application.
Do not respond by starting a new application, and do not respond by emailing a general INZ address if the letter names a specific one.
Step 5: Keep watching the account after you respond
INZ may come back with a follow-up. And it may notify you in the account rather than by email — a notification you do not open is still a notification that was sent. See how to check your application status.
Do not assume you will always get an RFI
This is the part that changed, and it changed in the applicant's disfavour.
Under the 2026 upfront police certificate rules, an application lodged without a required police certificate may be declined without further contact. No RFI. No opportunity to supply it. A decision.
That sits alongside INZ's general position that it will contact you if it needs more information, and both are true — the specific rule governs where it applies. The practical consequence is that "I will send it if they ask" is no longer a safe strategy for that document. Only Fiji, Hong Kong and Israel are named as accepting proof of application instead of the certificate. See the upfront police certificate rule and police certificates.
What happens after you respond
The application returns to assessment. INZ does not publish a separate processing time for post-RFI assessment, and the published wait-time figures — an average based on 50% of applications and a "most completed within" based on 80% — cover applications as a whole rather than resetting after a request.
An RFI does not extend your existing visa. If you are in New Zealand and your visa is expiring while an application is assessed, INZ will normally grant an interim visa so you remain lawful, and that is a separate mechanism from the RFI.
Where the legal line falls on this page
Explaining what an RFI is, how it differs from a PPI letter, and what the published rules require is information.
Reading your letter, deciding what to send, and shaping a response to your circumstances is advice — and giving immigration advice in New Zealand without a licence carries up to NZ$100,000 and seven years' imprisonment, whether or not anyone is paid for it. This page will not do it, and neither should an unlicensed agent offering to.
If an RFI concerns something significant — character, identity, a relationship, false or misleading information — that is the point at which a licensed immigration adviser or a New Zealand lawyer earns their fee. You can check anyone's licence on the Immigration Advisers Authority public register at https://app.mbieregisters.govt.nz/iaa/ui/start/searchForAnOccupationalRegistration, reached from www.iaa.govt.nz. See how to find a licensed immigration adviser.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is an RFI letter from Immigration New Zealand?
A request for further information — INZ asking for documents or information it needs before it can decide your application. It arrives by phone, email or as a notification in your Immigration Online account.
How long do I have to respond to an RFI?
The period is set in your own letter. INZ does not publish a standard response period, so the date in your letter is the only authoritative one. If you cannot meet it, contact INZ using the details in the letter before the date passes.
What is the difference between an RFI and a PPI letter?
An RFI asks for something INZ does not have. A PPI letter puts information INZ already holds to you for comment, because it may count against you. They are different letters with different consequences.
Does an RFI mean my visa will be declined?
No. An RFI is a request, not a decision or a signal. Applications of any complexity generate them routinely.
What happens if I miss the RFI deadline?
INZ decides the application on the information it has. Missing the deadline does not automatically produce a decline, but it removes the opportunity the request was giving you.
Can I ask for more time to respond to an RFI?
INZ sets the period and is the only party that can vary it. Contact it using the details in the letter, before the deadline rather than after.
Will INZ always ask before declining my application?
Not always. Under the 2026 upfront police certificate rules, an application missing a required police certificate may be declined without further contact.
Do I have to pay to respond to an RFI?
No. Responding is free. There is no fee to supply documents INZ has requested, and no service exists that can accelerate the assessment afterwards.
This page explains published rules. It is general information, not immigration advice, and it does not assess any individual's circumstances. Anyone who needs their own situation assessed should speak to a licensed immigration adviser or a New Zealand lawyer.
