Get Licenced

Current route to being licensed

To obtain a licence, you need to lodge an application with the Authority.  The Registrar will assess your evidence to ensure you meet the competency standards and that you are fit to be licensed.  The Registrar can only grant a licence to an individual.  He cannot grant a licence to a company or an organisation.

Licensed application fees

The total cost for a licence is NZ$2039.33 (incl GST) and is set by Regulation. This is made up of an NZ$909.78 application fee (NZ$791.11 if you are not ordinarily resident in New Zealand) and a NZ$1129.55 levy (NZ$982.22 if you are not ordinarily resident in New Zealand). Licence upgrade fees will be NZ$546.89 (incl GST – NZ$475.56 if not ordinarily resident in New Zealand).

Licence fees will cover the cost of processing and assessing all applications: initial licence, licence renewal, and licence upgrade. Levies will cover part of the cost of funding the functions of the Authority (other than application costs) and the full Tribunal costs.

Waiver of fees and levy as a not-for-profit adviser

You may be entitled to a waiver of licensing fees and the immigration adviser’s levy if you are acting as an immigration adviser on a not-for-profit and non-commercial basis or you're an employee or volunteer for an organisation that is operating on a not-for-profit and non-commercial basis.

For more information please see our Not-For-Profit policy.

Any waiver of fees and levy only applies while you maintain your not-for-profit status. If your circumstances change you must immediately inform the Authority in writing.

The code of conduct

The code of conduct, also available in: [PDF, 24 pages, 715kB] or two page A4 print version [pdf, 2 pages, 124kB] sets out the professional and ethical conduct expected of licensed immigration advisers and covers the following:

The code of conduct was developed in consultation with immigration advisers and people who receive immigration advice.

All licensed immigration advisers are required to explain the code of conduct to clients and give them a written copy.  The code of conduct is published in the New Zealand Gazette.

Competency standards

The competency standards, also available in: [PDF, 24 pages, 715kB] set the minimum standards of competence that you must achieve in order to be licensed.

For example, competency standard 4 requires the holder of a full licence to “arrange agreed services in a timely, complete and accurate manner”.

There are seven competency standards and each standard includes one or more performance indicators.  The standards required for a provisional licence holder differ from those required for a full or limited licence holder, because a provisional licence holder works under the direct supervision of a full licence holder. The competency standards are also published in the New Zealand Gazette.

English language competency

All licensed advisers are able to communicate in English to a high standard. It’s important that you fully understand the evidence requirements, as outlined in our English Language Policy.

Licensing process

There are several requirements when applying for a licence. These are different for each type of licence. Find out about our full and limited or provisional licence requirements.