A16.3 General Instruction on manner of processing visas

A16.3.1 Introduction and background

1. Under section 26(4) of the Immigration Act 2009, the chief executive may give general instructions to immigration officers on the order and manner of processing any application, or specified classes of application. If such general instructions are given, an immigration officer must process an application in accordance with those instructions.
2. The purpose of this general instruction is to set out the manner in which visa applications submitted using the enhanced Immigration Online system must be processed by immigration officers to enable automated processing.

Note: Enhancements are being made to INZ’s Immigration Online system. This General Instruction applies to applications made using the enhanced system.

A16.3.5 General Instruction on manner of processing visas using the Immigration Online system

Under section 26(4) of the Immigration Act 2009 and acting under delegated authority from the Chief Executive of the Ministry of the Business, Innovation, and Employment, I give the following general instructions as to the manner of processing of visa applications using the Immigration Online system, effective from 31 January 2022

A16.3.10 Performing activities assigned by the enhanced Immigration Online system

1. An immigration officer who is responsible for processing visas in the enhanced Immigration Online system will complete activities in the following manner:
   1. An officer will accept activities in the general order in which they become available in their work dashboard; pending activities in the dashboard are anonymised (ie no details of the applicant are presented)
   2. An officer may only return activities unprocessed in limited circumstances (which include conflict of interest) and with the approval of their manager
   3. An officer is expected to focus on the specific activity, without considering the visa application as a whole or other activities already completed by the system, unless they consider this is necessary in the circumstances to complete the activity they are assessing
   4. The officer must process the activity through to completion, including carrying out further verification activity, or requesting verification be carried out by a verification officer. The officer must record the outcome "instruction met", "instruction not met" or "cancelled"
   5. Where a specific activity requires the exercise of judgment or discretion in order to reach an outcome, for example a risk or bona fides assessment, the officer must record their reasons for reaching the outcome
   6. If the officer considers that a specific matter should be escalated to enable wider consideration of an application, then the officer should discuss this with their manager or a technical adviser. Examples of when this is warranted may include:
      • Where high risk is identified
      • Where false or misleading information may have been provided
2. Where A16.3.10.a.vi applies, the manager may choose to manually allocate all activities within the application to a single officer.

Note: The activity-based manner of processing visas is designed to support efficient visa processing. Immigration officers may be assigned to one or more virtual teams based on their capability type, and other factors such as to manage volumes of work on hand at INZ.

A16.3.15 Performing activities pertaining to final gathering of information, assessment and decision

1. An immigration officer carrying out the final assessment of an application where one or more instructions were not met:
   1. Will consider any activities where the system or an immigration officer determined that instructions were not met, or where concerns were raised by (an) immigration officer(s)
   2. Is not required to review any activities where the system or an immigration officer determined the instructions were met, but may do so if necessary or appropriate
   3. Will notify the applicant about any further information required, or any potentially prejudicial information (where applicable, in accordance with immigration instructions)
   4. Will apply principles of fairness and natural justice when considering any further information provided, or if the applicant fails to provide any further information when the timeframe for the provision of information has passed
   5. Will consider whether an exception to instructions is required and appropriate
   6. May, but is not obligated to, consider whether the applicant meets the requirements to be granted a visa under a different category
   7. Will reach a final decision on the application and record reasons for the outcome.

Note: Where all activities have been completed, and where either some instructions are not met, concerns have been raised, or the visa is of a type that is not fully automated, the system will raise an activity for an officer to carry out a final assessment of an application where one or more instructions were not met. As part of this assessment, the immigration officer may request further information, or disclose potentially prejudicial information to the applicant before reaching a decision on the application.

A16.3.20 Pre decision quality checks

1. Where an activity is subject to a pre decision quality check, the immigration officer that carried out that activity should:
   1. Give consideration to the intent and context of any advice given as a result of a quality check and carry out any rework that may be necessary
   2. Document any rework in a way that clearly identifies how the quality advice has been acted on
   3. Amend the outcome of the original assessment, if rework identifies that instructions are no longer met as originally assessed, or are met where previously assessed as not met.
2. When all activities have been completed, the application will be finalised and notified.

Note: Some activities and applications will be selected for pre-finalisation quality checks.

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Alison McDonald
Deputy Secretary
Immigration NewZealand

13 January 2022

Effective: 13/01/2022