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Immigration Act 2009

Miscellaneous provisions - Notice requirements and addresses for communications

386A: Serving and giving notices, etc, to other people

You could also call this:

“How to properly deliver official notices and documents to people”

When you need to give a notice or document to someone under the Immigration Act 2009, you must follow certain rules. If you’re sending it by post, you must use registered post. If you’re sending it electronically, you must use the person’s electronic address.

If you’re serving a notice on someone, you can do it in person or by sending it to their address for service. If their address for service is a lawyer or agent, that person needs to sign to say they accept the notice.

When you send a notice or document by registered post within New Zealand, it’s considered received seven days after you send it. If you send it outside New Zealand, it’s considered received 14 days after you send it.

If you send a notice or document to an electronic address, it’s considered received three working days after you send it.

These rules about when notices are considered received don’t apply if the person can prove they didn’t get the notice, and it wasn’t their fault. This exception is for people who have a residence class visa, or are described in section 187(1)(a) to (c), or if the notice was sent to an address outside New Zealand.

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View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=DLM6471320.

Topics:
Immigration and citizenship > Visas
Immigration and citizenship > Border control
Government and voting > Government departments
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Part 11 Miscellaneous provisions
Notice requirements and addresses for communications

386AServing and giving notices, etc, to other people

  1. This section applies where, under this Act or any regulations made under it, a notice or other document is required to be served on, or supplied, notified, or in any other way given to, a person other than a person referred to in section 386(1) or (2).

  2. A notice or other document that is required to be served on a person must be in writing and must be served by—

  3. personal service on the person; or
    1. sending it by registered post to the person's address for service; but if the address for service is the address of a lawyer or agent, service is effected only if the lawyer or agent signs a memorandum stating that he or she accepts service of the notice or document on behalf of the person.

      1. If a notice or other document is required to be supplied, notified, or in any other way given to a person, the notice or other document must be in writing and must be either given to the person personally or sent to the person's contact address, in which case,—

      2. if the address is a physical address, it must be sent by registered post to that address; and
        1. if the address is an electronic address, it must be sent by electronic means to that address.

          1. A notice or document served or sent by registered post is deemed to be received by the person to whom it is addressed,—

          2. if the address is in New Zealand, 7 days after the date on which it was sent; and
            1. if the address is outside New Zealand, 14 days after the date on which it was sent.

              1. A notice or other document sent to an electronic address is deemed to be received by the person to whom it is addressed 3 working days after the date on which it was sent.

              2. Subsection (4) applies unless the intended recipient proves that he or she did not receive the notice or document and the failure to receive it was not a result of fault on his or her part, and—

              3. he or she is—
                1. the holder of a residence class visa; or
                  1. a person described in section 187(1)(a) to (c); or
                  2. the address to which the notice or document was sent is an address outside New Zealand.

                    Notes
                    • Section 386A: inserted, on , by section 96 of the Immigration Amendment Act 2015 (2015 No 48).