Common topic
The immigration system workforce
Published
20 August 2025
Find out about the immigration system workforce and what they do.
Immigration New Zealand (INZ) is the operational delivery function of an integrated immigration system. As part of the system we:
- grant visas to people New Zealand needs to work, visit, study, or settle here
- make sure that people crossing the border and staying in New Zealand are entitled to do so
- help migrants and refugees make New Zealand their home
- play our part in the global immigration system, together with our border partners, to keep Aotearoa New Zealand safe.
The integrated immigration system includes teams in branches across the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) who:
- answer calls to the Immigration Contact Centre
- carry out onshore investigations and compliance activity, and
- provide policy advice to the Minister of Immigration.
Our people
We have around 800 immigration officers working on visa applications.
In the 2024/25 financial year there were:
- 3,466 working holiday extensions approved
- 47,147 working holiday applications received, 98% of which were approved
- over 496,400 visitor visa applications received, 88% of which were approved
- more than 1.6 million NZeTA (New Zealand Electronic Travel Authority) requests received, 99.99% of which were approved
- 90,651 student applications received, 93,448 decided, with 87% approved
- 24,655 Job Check applications received, and more than 23,482 approved, which is equal to 65,382 positions
- 799,200 arrivals into New Zealand (first visa arrivals only, 6.56 million total arrivals)
- over 13.13 million movements at the New Zealand border (arrivals and departures)
- 17,710 Recognised Seasonal Employer Limited Visas approved
- 22,207 accredited employer applications approved
- 32,873 Accredited Employer Work Visa (AEWV) applications received and around 31,374 AEWV applications approved.
For more AEWV statistics:
Accredited Employer Work Visa (AEWV) key information and statistics
In addition to immigration officers, there are other staff in roles that provide vital direct support to the visa application process. These include:
- support officers
- verification officers
- identity resolution analysts
- medical assessors
- technical advisors, and
- immigration managers who provide administrative, technical and verification support and line management to our immigration officers.
Frontline operations staff
Our frontline operations staff:
- manage risk at the New Zealand border
- assist travellers and manage risk at major transition airports
- assess offshore threats to the immigration system in their bases overseas
- support the arrival and settlement of quota refugees
- work in the Pacific to help travel within the region
- assess asylum and refugee status claims made by people already in New Zealand
- engage regularly with relevant industry sectors and partners.
INZ's Immigration Online platform
INZ’s business plans have focused on workforce growth, simplifying processes and developing the new Immigration Online platform to increase the efficiency and improve its services.
With the launch of the new Immigration Online platform in January 2022 it allowed:
- for more automation of the visa processing administrative steps, and
- immigration officers to use their time more efficiently.
There is a programme of work underway to support a more customer-centric, streamlined immigration system to make it easier for people to use our services with one platform for visa submissions and processing. However, until all services move to this immigration online platform, support is still required for the maintenance of INZ’s legacy systems.