Frequently asked questions

Please see our Licensing toolkit.

Licensing toolkit: Change in circumstances 

Your licence will expire at 11.59pm NZST on the date recorded on the Register of Immigration Advisers. You must submit your renewal application, either via fast track or inspection stream, on or before the date on which your licence expires.

Our Service Centre will be able to assist you with any difficulties you have logging into or setting up your online account. You can contact the Service Centre by email at info@iaa.govt.nz, or by phone at 0508 422422. If you are overseas, you can call +64 9 925 3838.

Check the name and file type of your document. If your document name exceeds 50 characters in length, contains special or foreign language characters, or is not a supported file type, your upload will be unsuccessful.

If you continue experiencing difficulties, even though your document is appropriately named and an accepted file type, please contact the Service Centre. You can contact the Service Centre by email at info@iaa.govt.nz, or by phone at 0508 422422. If you are overseas, you can call +64 9 925 3838. 

The Authority publishes a Newsletter several times a year providing updates and information for advisers. You can subscribe to receive our Newsletter or view historical newsletters under the News section on our website.

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It is individual advisers, and not companies, who are licensed under the Act. Therefore, it is an adviser’s individual responsibility to ensure that he or she complies with all aspects of the Licensed Immigration Advisers Code of Conduct 2014 (the Code). To illustrate, it is a requirement for an adviser to maintain each client file for a period of no less than 7 years from closing the file, and make those records available for inspection on request by the Authority in line with Clause 26(e) of the Code.

Therefore, where you have provided immigration advice to clients, you are personally responsible for maintaining a complete client file relating to that advice for 7 years. We would encourage you to obtain legal advice for further assistance if you have any concerns regarding your contractual and Code obligations.

With respect to terminating your services with your clients, you (as the licensed immigration adviser) must ensure that you have complied with clause 28 of the Code, specifically that:

1. the termination of services, for any reason, is confirmed to the client in writing
2. where they cease to act for the client for any reason other than the completion of agreed services, they inform Immigration New Zealand or the Immigration and Protection Tribunal, as appropriate, that they are no longer representing the client, and
3. if, for any reason, the adviser cannot continue to act for the client, the adviser fully updates the client on the status of their immigration matter and advises them of where they could get assistance.

In addition, should the new immigration adviser representing your former client need to obtain any of the application-related documents or communications in your possession which would enable them to assist the client, then such information/ documents/ communications must be released to them as per clause 26(f) of the Code. In this regard, however, please also be mindful of the provisions of the Privacy Act 2020, where relevant.

Yes. An adviser must inform the Authority if they work for any other businesses. If the applicant is working for any other businesses at the time of applying for a licence, they must provide the contact details and addresses for those other business(es). Alternatively, if there are any changes during their licensing period, they must notify the Registrar in writing as soon as practicable, but not later than 10 working days after the change as stipulated by Section 26 of the Immigration Advisers Licensing Act 2007, and 10(e) of the Licensed Immigration Advisers Code of Conduct 2014.

Non-lawyer employees of law firms or lawyers are included as ‘lawyers’ for purposes of the section 11(e) exemption of lawyers in the Immigration Advisers Licensing Act 2007 (the Act). This is because:

• Non-lawyer employees of law firms cannot give advice to clients on their own account and
• In terms of the Lawyers and Conveyancers Act 2006, it is the lawyer employer who is actually responsible for providing the advice to the client, not the employee.

This means that in respect of the work undertaken as an employee of a law firm or lawyer, non-lawyer employees are exempted as ‘lawyers’ under the Act and prohibited from holding an immigration adviser’s  licence (section 11(e) and section 12(6) of the Act). The conduct of an employee of a law firm or a lawyer is subject to the regulations of the Lawyers and Conveyancers Act 2006 and the New Zealand Law Society.

Therefore, unless the  licence is surrendered under section 31 of the Act before taking up employment with the law firm, the Registrar must cancel the licence if he is satisfied that a licensee is prohibited under section 12(6) of the Act from holding a licence (section 27(1)(a) of the Act).

The above provisions do not apply if you are an independent contractor and not an employee of a lawyer/law firm. Therefore, your ability to keep your immigration adviser’s licence would depend on your contractual arrangement and status with the law firm / lawyer.

No. Licensed advisers working outside of New Zealand cannot ‘choose’ to be exempt for the purpose of a student visa application. Once an adviser is licensed they must abide by the Code of Conduct and all their obligations as a licensed adviser in respect of all immigration advice and assistance they provide.

Yes. As a licensed immigration adviser, you will be expected to adhere to all aspects of the Code and carry out the duties expected of a licensed adviser when you are providing immigration advice. You are bound by this duty when you are a licensed immigration adviser and it cannot be absolved unless you surrender your licence or let it expire.

Please see our licensing toolkit.

Licensing toolkit: Not-for-profit status

Yes. If you believe you still qualify for not-for-profit status, you must complete and submit application form 501 for consideration two (2) months prior to the expiry of your licence.

No. If you submit an application to the Authority without the required documentation, we will not lodge your application for assessment. You will be notified that your application has been refused as incomplete.

Please refer to the Licensing toolkit for further information

If you apply to upgrade your licence at renewal, and you are granted a full licence you may then consider acting as a supervisor to potential provisional licence holders.

When considering “sufficient experience as an immigration adviser” it is expected that the proposed supervisor meets the competency standards to hold a full licence. There is currently no requirement that a supervisor must hold a full licence for a specified period of time.

A supervisor must also ensure that they comply with clause 12 of the Code of Conduct, in addition to all other prescribed aspects of the Code.

Yes. In terms of the Code of Conduct 2014, both the provisional licence holder and their supervisor must adhere to their supervision agreement (clauses 12(c) and 13(a) respectively). Your supervision agreement will contain a provision under which you and your supervisor must hold regular supervision meetings. The purpose of such meetings is not only to discuss client cases, but also to discuss various topics relevant to your practice and development as an immigration adviser, such as: provisions of the Immigration Act, immigration instructions (and changes thereto); discussions of the Immigration Advisers Licensing Act, IACDT and IPT case law; provisions of the Code of Conduct, et cetera. Supervision meetings are intended to have an additional educational purpose, and are not solely intended for discussions of ongoing client cases.

You can submit an updated or new supervision agreement for approval by logging into your RealMe® account at iaa.govt.nz under 'my profile'. and submitting a change of supervisor request. You must also upload your new/amended supervision agreement and completed Form 101A- Supervision Arrangement application. If you are having difficulties with your account, please contact the Service Centre for further assistance, via email info@iaa.govt.nz or call them on Freephone (New Zealand): 0508 422422 From overseas: +64 9 925 3838

Clause 26(a) of the Code of Conduct provides what must be contained in a client file.

Code of Conduct toolkit: File management

Licensing toolkit: Selected for inspection

If you are unable to provide complete documentation, please provide further information in your application cover letter for consideration.

Yes. You may submit your client file via email to IAAreferrals@iaa.govt.nz. Please note that our size limit for emails including attachments is 20MB. If possible, please reduce the size of your email or attachments. If you are sending multiple attachments, please send them in batches. Please label these accordingly (e.g. Emailing attachments: Part 1 of 3) so we can confirm receipt of your complete response.

Please note your file should be received by IAA within 5 business days of your submitted application.

You may send a hard copy of your client file to:

By courier 
MBIE Mailroom 
Level 4, 167b Victoria Street West 
Auckland CBD 
Auckland 1010 
New Zealand 

By post 
Immigration Advisers Authority 
PO Box 6222 
Victoria Street West 
Auckland 1142 
New Zealand 

Please note your file should be received by the Authority within 5 business days of your submitted application.

Yes. If you terminate your supervision agreement or surrender your provisional licence, time stops for the purpose of calculating the 24 month period to upgrade to a full licence.

For example, Sam was granted an initial provisional licence on 12/1/2018, valid until 11/1/2019. Sam wanted a break from practising as an adviser so he voluntarily surrendered his licence on 12/6/2018.

In late 2019, Sam decided he wanted to practise as an adviser again and successfully reapplied for a provisional licence. Sam wants to know when he would be eligible to upgrade.

In terms of calculating the 24 month period on a provisional licence, Sam would have already accumulated 5 months having held a provisional licence (12/1/2018-12/6/2018). Sam would require an additional 19 months of supervision in order to meet the 24 month supervision requirements.

You may be asked to provide a client file with your upgrade application if you are selected for inspection. Your inspection notice will set out the documents you need to provide. Please note you may not submit your upgrade application more than 3 weeks prior to your licence expiry date.

Please see our Licensing toolkit.

Licensing toolkit: Upgrade your licence

No. You must be awarded the Graduate Diploma in New Zealand Immigration Advice by Te Pūkenga |Toi Ohomai Institute of Technology before you can submit your upgrade application. A transcript of results, without confirmation of the award, is insufficient.

No. If you are intending to upgrade your licence on your licence anniversary date, then you must submit an upgrade application instead of a renewal application. Please do not submit both.

You will have to pay the upgrade application fee, because you are submitting a new application. However, your levy payment may be calculated pro-rata.

No. Currently, it is not a compulsory requirement that you submit an upgrade application if you have practised on a provisional licence for at least 24 months. Some advisers require more time under direct supervision of a fully licensed adviser or feel that they need more time to gain the necessary skills and experience to practise on their own account.

Yes. However you must ensure that the Trade Mark is displayed in accordance with the Trade Mark Agreement per clause 32 of the Code of Conduct.

Yes. However, you must have notified the Authority of any secondary businesses you are associated with prior to using the trade mark. You can notify the Authority of any secondary businesses online, by using the “Maintain Immigration Adviser Licence” function of the IAA online portal.

IAA online portal

Please see our Licensing toolkit.

Licensing toolkit: Apply as an Australian registered migration agent

If you hold a current New Zealand Immigration Advisers Licence and during that time you allow your Migration Agent registration to expire, you may still renew your New Zealand Immigration Advisers Licence provided that you apply for it on or before the date that licence expires. If you no longer hold a New Zealand Immigration Advisers Licence and you are no longer a Registered Migration Agent, you must ensure that you register as a Migration Agent before you submit an application to re-enter into the profession through the TTMRA scheme.

You must complete 20 hours CPD per licensing period, this includes one mandatory activity. For example, if your licence period is 20/01/2025 -19/01/2026, you must complete 20 hours CPD during that licensing period. The CPD toolkit provides further guidance on acceptable CPD activities.

 CPD toolkit

You can register for upcoming Webinars online. You will receive a link via email to join the live session.

Yes. However, the recording should fall within your applicable licensing period. We strongly recommend that you watch a recording of a webinar with another adviser so you get the most value from the session.

Please see our CPD toolkit.

CPD toolkit: The CPD plan and record