Plain language law

New Zealand law explained for everyone

Immigration Advisers Licensing Act 2007

Regulation of immigration advisers - Immigration advisers to be licensed, unless exempt

9: Immigration applications or requests from unlicensed immigration advisers

You could also call this:

“Rules about who can help you with immigration applications”

If you want to apply for immigration or make an immigration request, you need to be careful about who helps you. The person helping you (called an agent) must either be a licensed immigration adviser or someone who doesn’t need a licence according to section 11 of the law. If someone who isn’t allowed to help you sends in your application, it won’t be accepted.

If your application is accepted by mistake when it shouldn’t have been, it will be refused. This means it won’t be looked at or approved.

The person in charge of immigration (called the chief executive) needs to make sure that immigration forms and information booklets tell people about these rules.

If your application can’t be accepted or is refused because of these rules, the chief executive will send you a letter. This letter will tell you that your application wasn’t accepted or was refused, and will explain how you can send it again in the right way.

This text is automatically generated. It might be out of date or be missing some parts. Find out more about how we do this.

This page was last updated on

View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=DLM407310.

Topics:
Immigration and citizenship > Visas Rights and equality > Privacy
Previous

8: Offshore immigration advice, or

"Rules for people giving immigration advice from outside New Zealand"

Next

10: Who may be licensed as immigration adviser, or

"Rules for becoming a licensed immigration adviser"

Part 1 Regulation of immigration advisers
Immigration advisers to be licensed, unless exempt

9Immigration applications or requests from unlicensed immigration advisers

  1. Immigration applications or requests provided or prepared on behalf of a person (the applicant) by another person (the agent) must not be accepted unless the agent—

  2. is a licensed immigration adviser; or
    1. is exempt from the requirement to be licensed under section 11.

      1. If an application or a request that must not be accepted is accepted automatically, in error, or for any other reason, the application must be refused.

      2. The chief executive must, so far as practicable, ensure that immigration forms and information brochures prepared or provided by the Department contain advice about the effect of subsections (1) and (2).

      3. If subsection (1) or (2) applies in a particular case, the chief executive must notify the applicant, in writing,—

      4. that the application or request is not accepted or is refused; and
        1. how the application or request may be resubmitted in an acceptable manner.

          Notes
          • Section 9: replaced, on , by section 26 of the Regulatory Systems (Immigration and Workforce) Amendment Act 2025 (2025 No 10).