Welcome to Immigration New Zealand Apia

The Apia Branch is one of three Immigration New Zealand (INZ) offices located in the Pacific. Our office is located on the ground floor of the New Zealand High Commission building, Beach Road, Apia, the capital of Samoa.

Apia Branch employs up to 17 local staff, with seconded Branch Manager, Mr Antony Harris. It is also where the Regional Liaison Officer for INZ's Border Security Group, Mr Dean Blakemore is based.

The Branch looks after the whole of Samoa which consists of four islands —Upolu, Savaii, Manono, and Apolima — as well as American Samoa, a territory of the United States of America. The Apia Branch maintains a close relationship with its buddy posts in the Cook Islands and Niue.  (Both NZ High Commissions / posts each have a trained & warranted Visa Officer).

The branch plays an important role in both the special Treaty of Friendship relationship between the governments of Samoa and New Zealand, and in the Recognised Seasonal Employer scheme.

Apia Branch liaises with the special Samoan Quota Scheme Policy which allows 1,100 people to apply for New Zealand residence each year. Registrations for the Samoan Quota Scheme are accepted during the month of April. Registration forms are available from the branch, and are also available on our forms page. Completed registration forms must be mailed, to arrive no later than April 30, to:

Immigration New Zealand
Samoan Quota Scheme
Private Bag
Apia
SAMOA

The draw for the Samoan Quota Scheme is usually held in late June. Successful registrants are then notified, & may lodge Residence applications with us.  (Note: Residence applications are no longer processed here, but are transferred to NZ, by this Branch - since 2006).

October of every year is the onset of the Branch's busy season.  The Branch advises cut-off acceptance date/s for Visitor Visa applications late in the year*.  Visitor Visa applications received after the date are not guaranteed the usual 10 working day processing time, and a ‘check back’ date of January (the following year) is likely.

*For 2007 the cut off was Dec 7; for 2008 the cut off was Nov 28 (in line with the local Australian High Commission - Immigration Division).

Immigration queries should be forwarded to apia@dol.govt.nz and not to NZHC nzhcapia@samoa.ws email / staff, as this may delay response time.