Much of the following information has been extracted from the Immigration Advisers Authority website consumer guide.
Start by checking the Immigration Adviser Authority’s (IAA's) online register to find the nearest licensed adviser to you.
Anyone giving immigration advice must be licensed by the IAA, unless exempt. If you choose a licensed immigration adviser, you are more likely to be able to get your money back and/or compensation if you receive poor immigration advice or services.
There are several exceptions for advisers to be exempt from licensing, namely those who provide immigration advice offshore about student visa applications only.
NZ Lawyers provide immigration advice and are exempt from licensing under the Immigration Advisers Licensing Act 2007. For more information and to view the register of immigration lawyers, go to the New Zealand Law Society website www.lawsociety.org.nz.
If Immigration New Zealand has any reason to suspect that your application has been submitted by an adviser who does not hold a licence we are empowered to refuse to accept your application. If you provide false or misleading information by failing to declare that an unlicensed adviser has submitted your application, the application may be declined on character grounds. It is an offence to provide false or misleading information to an immigration officer.
Do not put your future in jeopardy; select a New Zealand based lawyer or a Licensed Immigration Adviser from the Immigration Advisers Authority website. This person is qualified to help you.
Fees charged by advisers vary for a number of reasons including adviser experience, complexity of application, level of personal service provided and current market rates.
Below is the average and median adviser fee between June 2010 – May 2011. Charges can also be made for expenses such as photocopying, phone calls and couriers. These charges are not included in the figures below.
IAA publishes both figures to give migrants the most accurate picture of market rates. The average is calculated by dividing the total fees by the number of advisers. The median is the middle number of the average fee.
If the median is lower than the average this means there are some very high fees at the top end which has inflated the average.
Pay only what you can afford, and what seems reasonable and fair. You are the only judge of this.
**Fees in Philippine peso based on exchange rate of 32PHP:1NZ$.
Licensed immigration advisers must:
You can recognise a licensed immigration adviser by this trademark.
Find out what migrants say about using an immigration adviser.
