Licensing of immigration advisers enforced by INZ

From 4 May, 2009, any individual who provides immigration advice in New Zealand must hold a licence issued by the Immigration Advisers Authority (IAA), unless they are exempt from the requirement to hold a licence (this includes New Zealand lawyers who are already professionally regulated by the New Zealand Government).

Immigration New Zealand (INZ) will now not accept immigration applications from individuals in New Zealand who represent migrants unless they are licensed or are exempt from the licensing regime.

What if my immigration consultant is not licensed?

If applications are currently processing with INZ and the adviser in question is now not licensed (for example, an application submitted by an unlicensed immigration adviser prior to 4 May), INZ will provide mere correspondence to that adviser regarding the application, and submissions based on advice received by the applicant from 4 May, 2009, will not be accepted by INZ.

Further, and most importantly, migrants who have retained the services of an unlicensed immigration adviser in New Zealand will now find themselves in a position where they may have paid a fee to that adviser only to find out that the individual can no longer represent them and file their application to INZ. It is, therefore, advisable that if migrants are moving through the immigration process with an adviser who is not currently licensed or exempt, they should seek alternative representation from a suitably licensed immigration adviser or New Zealand immigration lawyer.

It has been estimated by Immigration New Zealand that before the licensing regime there were approximately 1,000 individuals providing immigration advice; however, only a limited percentage of those have applied for and obtained a licence. If migrants have paid fees to unlicensed immigration advisers, those individuals should seek a refund and, if necessary, take legal action to recover fees for work that due to the implementation of the licensing regime cannot be reasonably fulfilled by the unlicensed adviser.

In relation to the implementation of the licensing, and the sufficient time that has been provided for advisers in New Zealand to become licensed, it is advised that migrants confirm the licence of any consultant before payment.

Are the services of licensed advisers guaranteed?

It is important to note that the licensing regime does not guarantee the provision of a professional service from a licensed immigration adviser. Like the registration process in Australia, the most important part of the regulation process will be over the next five to 10 years as immigration advisers who have obtained licences who do not provide professional services will have their licences cancelled or not renewed for breaches of the Licensing Regulations (most often professional incompetency).

Migrants, therefore, should still complete a due diligence exercise in terms of determining whether or not an individual is professionally qualified and experienced to assist them in their immigration matter, even if that individual is licensed with the IAA.

The regulation of the immigration advice industry in New Zealand is well overdue, and is a welcome step in the right direction to ensure that individuals who are providing immigration advice to migrants are competent. For added security, there is now an official body with which to lodge complaints against licensed advisers who have failed to provide adequate/competent service and/or have charged exorbitant fees for their services.

-written by Mark Williams, Lane Neave Lawyers

Mark leads the immigration team at Lane Neave. Having specialised in the practice of immigration law since 1999, he has extensive knowledge and is skilled in all areas of immigration law and policy. Mark is a lecturer in immigration law at the University of Canterbury and is a Director of the New Zealand Association for Migration and Investment.