Licensed immigration advisers

Frequently asked questions about licence renewals

How much will it cost to renew my licence?

The immigration adviser renewal fee is $NZ890 (GST incl.) or NZ$791.11 (GST excl.) for advisers not ordinarily resident in New Zealand. This fee represents a partial recovery of the cost of processing and assessing renewal applications.

You must also pay the immigration adviser levy, which is set at NZ$1105 (GST incl.) per year or $982.22 (GST excl.) for those not ordinarily resident in New Zealand. The levy covers part of the cost of funding the functions of the Authority (other than the application costs) and Tribunal costs.

Where do I find the application renewal form?

When should I begin the process of applying to renew my licence?

The Authority will contact you by email approximately two months prior to the expiry of your current licence to confirm your contact details. Please contact the Authority if you do not hear from it around this time.

How do I apply for renewal of my licence?

The Authority will send an Application Form for Renewal of an Immigration Adviser Licence to your postal address.

The completed application form and supporting documentation must be returned by post, courier, or delivered to the Authority in person before the expiry of your current licence.

Can I submit my application for renewal by email or facsimile?

No. The application must be submitted in hard copy, with the relevant supporting documents; or by post, courier, or in person.

When should I submit my application for renewal?

It is strongly recommended that you submit your application for renewal at least one month prior to the expiry of your current licence. In all cases your application must be received by the Authority on or before the date your current licence expires. In practice, this means that your application must be received by the Authority before the close of business on the date your current licence expires.

What if my licence expires on a Saturday, Sunday or a day that is a public holiday in New Zealand?

Your application should be received by the Authority before the close of business on the last working day before the date your licence expires.

What if the Authority does not receive my application for renewal before my current licence expires?

You must allow sufficient time for your application to reach the Authority prior to the expiry of your current licence. If your application does not reach the Authority in time, the expiry of your current licence will be recorded on the register of licensed immigration advisers, Immigration New Zealand will no longer accept immigration applications from you, and you must stop giving immigration advice. If you wish to give immigration advice again at some time in the future, you will need to apply for a new licence.

Can I continue to give immigration advice while my renewal application is being assessed?

Yes. As long as your application to renew your licence is submitted before your current licence expires, you may continue to give immigration advice.

How long will it take to assess my renewal application?

The Authority will endeavour to fully complete renewal applications within 40 working days of receiving a fully completed application.

What documents will I have to provide?

A completed application must include:

a completed Application Form for Renewal of an Immigration Adviser Licence, including a statutory declaration;
the licence application fee;
a verified passport photo;
the evidence required by the form, specifically:

a copy of one client file, with an authorisation and declaration from the client; and
a copy of your internal complaints procedure; and
certified copies of three months of bank statements relating to your separate clients’ bank account (for advisers who receive funds to pay fees and/or disbursements from clients in advance); and

an application for approval of a supervision plan and a copy of the supervision plan (provisional licence holders only).

What is a client file?

A client file is a file that records your work on behalf of a client in relation to a particular immigration matter. It should trace your work on the client’s behalf, from your first contact with the client through to the resolution of the immigration matter. It should contain evidence of your communications with your client, and with INZ or any appeal bodies, as well as copies of any applications or other documentation relating to the immigration matter.

What kind of client file should I provide?

You should choose an exemplary client file, i.e. one that you consider shows a high standard of work. You should choose a file that you consider demonstrates your competence, and reflects your standard business practices and processes. This file can relate to any immigration matter. You should choose a file that was started and completed during the period of your current licence. If this is not possible, you may choose a file that is substantially complete. The file must relate to an application that was tendered to INZ since you obtained your current licence.

I am a provisional licence holder. What kind of client file do I need to provide?

The Authority recognises that you may not have completed a client file. If not, you should choose a file in which you have had extensive involvement. You will be asked on the application form to indicate which parts of the file you have completed. Remember, you should be seeking to demonstrate to the Authority that you continue to meet the competency standards and comply with the code of conduct.

Will the Authority be assessing the fees I charge?

No. You are asked to provide information about the fees you charge for various immigration matters in the application form, however this information does not form part of the assessment of your application for renewal of your licence. Rather, the Registrar is seeking the information to gain an overview of fees being charged by advisers, and from this will be able to form a view as to what fees are fair and reasonable, in terms of section 8 of the code of conduct. Information about average and median fees will be published on the Authority’s website in due course. This will allow migrants to judge the reasonableness of fees being sought for immigration matters they are seeking advice on.

Information about fees being charged by individual advisers will NOT be published.

Do I need to provide bank statements with my application?

Some advisers require their clients to provide funds to pay INZ or appeal body fees and disbursements in advance. Where this is the case, the Code of Conduct requires the clients’ funds to be held in a separate clients’ bank account. If this applies to you, you are required to provide evidence of those bank accounts with your application form.

The Authority will assess the evidence provided to ensure you are complying with the Code of Conduct requirements relating to client funds.

You do NOT need to provide your personal or business bank accounts with your application.

Am I required to participate in CPD activities?

Yes. Competency Standard 7 requires all advisers to actively participate in relevant CPD activities. The application form requires you to give details about those activities.

What CPD activities are relevant?

A CPD activity may be assessed as relevant if it relates to one or more of the Competency Standards 2 to 6. Further guidance on CPD requirements will be published on the Authority’s website shortly.

What if I am enrolled in CPD activities that are not completed when I submit my renewal application?

The Authority may take account of CPD activities that you plan to participate in during the period of your current licence. Where you have enrolled in an activity that will not be completed prior to submission of your renewal application, but will be completed prior to the expiry of your current licence, you should provide evidence of your enrolment in that activity, such as a receipt for the enrolment fee.

How can self-directed learning be assessed?

To gain credit for self-directed learning, you will be asked to provide the names and publication details of articles, books and other publications you have read, and comment on why you chose to read those materials. You must demonstrate a direct link between the learning and your work as an immigration adviser. It is not sufficient to rely on comments such as “It helps my work”.

What if I have not participated in any CPD activities?

The Registrar is seeking active participation in CPD. If the Registrar considers you have not met the standard set in the Competency Standards, your application for renewal may be refused.

Do I need to provide information about my immigration cases?

You will be asked to give information in the application for renewal form about:

the estimatednumber of applications you have been involved in during the period of your current licence; and
how many applications you have had refused/failed lodgement and/or declined by INZ during this period.

As stated in the form, it is expected that you will be able to provide this information from your own records. Approximate figures are acceptable. You may for example give a range of figures, eg "between 8-10". Please be aware that an "application" refers to an application submitted by you on your client's behalf to INZ. If you act on behalf of the same client in relation to more than one application, each individual application should be counted. Where an application includes several members from one family, this would only be counted as one application.

Please note that this information will not be determinative of your application, but will be looked at together with the other information and evidence you provide. The application form contains space for you to comment on the information you provide in this section.

You are not required to contact INZ to obtain an activity record. However, if the Authority considers that it is necessary, it may verify the information provided by you with records held by INZ.

What if I wish to upgrade from a limited or a provisional licence?

There are separate processes for upgrading licences and for renewing licences. Contact the Authority to ask about the process for upgrading your licence.

If I wish to renew my provisional licence, can I change supervisors?

Yes. Every adviser holding a provisional licence who seeks to renew that licence must submit a new Application Form for Approval of Supervision Arrangement and a copy of the proposed supervision arrangement.

You can either seek approval to enter a new supervision arrangement or extend an existing supervision arrangement.

Do I need to make a statutory declaration?

Yes. You must make a statutory declaration in your renewal application form, which must be witnessed by a person authorised to witness a statutory declaration under the Oaths and Declarations Act 1957.

The same witness should also verify your passport photograph. The Authority recommends that you also ask the same witness to certify copies of any evidence that has to be certified to save you time.

Who can witness my statutory declaration?

The following persons may witness a statutory declaration made in New Zealand:

a barrister and solicitor of the High Court of New Zealand
a Justice of the Peace (you can find a list of Justices of the Peace in the New Zealand Yellow Pages)
a notary public
a Registrar or Deputy Registrar of the District Court, High Court, Court of Appeal or Supreme Court
a member of Parliament.

The following persons are authorised to witness a statutory declaration made outside New Zealand:

in a Commonwealth country other than New Zealand - a Judge, a Commissioner of Oaths, a notary public, a Justice of the Peace, or any person authorised by the law of that country to administer an oath there for the purpose of a judicial proceeding, a Commonwealth representative, or a solicitor of the High Court of New Zealand
in a country other than a Commonwealth country, a Commonwealth representative, a Judge, a notary public, or a solicitor of the High Court of New Zealand.

A full list of potential witnesses can be obtained from section 9 of the Oaths and Declarations Act 1957.

How should evidence be certified?

Certified evidence is a photocopy of evidence that has been stamped or endorsed by a person who confirms that the copy is a true copy of the original. The person who certifies the copy must be authorised to do so by law in your home country or in New Zealand (e.g. a Justice of the Peace, Notary Public, lawyer or Court official). Where evidence must be certified, a signature is required on each page of the copy, with the name and title of the person certifying shown legibly below their signature.

What if I work for a not-for-profit organisation?

If your fees and levy were waived on the basis that you work for an organisation on a not-for-profit basis when you made your last application, please contact the Authority before submitting your application to establish whether the organisation has retained its not-for-profit status.

If your circumstances have changed and you now volunteer or work for an organisation on a not-for-profit basis and believe you may be entitled to a waiver of the fees and levy payable for your licence, contact the Authority before you submit your renewal application. The Registrar will require information from you about the funding model, fees charged and overall structure of the organisation you volunteer or work for. The Authority may then issue a letter of confirmation of the not-for-profit status of your organisation.

Do I need to provide a police certificate with my application for renewal?

No, not unless requested by the Registrar.

What if I was licensed through the Trans-Tasman Mutual Recognition Act?

If you were granted a New Zealand licence on the basis of your registration as a migration agent in Australia, you can apply to renew your New Zealand Immigration Advisers Licence whether or not you continue to be registered in Australia. Use the standard Application Form for Renewal of an Immigration Adviser Licence. Contact the Authority if there are any aspects of the renewals process that you wish to discuss given your circumstances.

What if I have changed my residence status?

The renewal process is the same, regardless of whether you are based in New Zealand or overseas, however the fee and levy will differ. If you have spent more than 183 days in the 12 months prior to your renewal application in New Zealand, you are classified as ordinarily resident in New Zealand and required to pay GST on the application fee and levy.

What if I now hold a New Zealand practising certificate under the Lawyers and Conveyancers Act 2006?

You are prohibited from holding a licence. You should surrender your licence to the Authority immediately.

Where can I find out about other categories of exemption?

Advisers should read section 11 of the Immigration Advisers Licensing Act 2007 if they consider they may now be exempt from the requirement to be licensed.

Will I receive a new licence and identification card?

Yes, your new licence and identification card will be reissued with your updated photo and the new expiry date.

What should I do with my old licence and identification card?

You must destroy your old licence and identification card.

Can I apply for a new licence rather than applying to renew my current licence?

The Authority will not accept a second application for an initial licence from a licensed adviser before his or her current licence has expired. If you do allow your current licence to expire in order to apply for a new licence, you should be aware that you would need to cease providing immigration advice while your application is assessed, which may take approximately 40 days.

Immigration Advisers Authority