Information we can share with licensed immigration advisers and lawyers
Our Customer Service Centre and Privacy Team can share with licensed immigration advisers (LIAs) and lawyers.
If you are a licensed immigration adviser (LIA) or lawyer, you can ask us for information about a client, and the visas they have been given or have applied for, either by:
- calling our Customer Service Centre, or
- sending our Privacy Team a request.
Before you are given any information, you must confirm that:
- you are representing the visa applicant
- your details are listed on the Law Society website.
The type of information we can share with you
We can share with you details about:
- the visa a client currently holds
- applications they have completed
- their previous visas
- the processing of any current applications
- medical examinations they have had
- police certificates they have provided
- their travel movements
- word-for-word (verbatim) copies of any file notes
- how to contact Immigration New Zealand staff who are dealing with their application.
Whether you should be calling our Customer Service Centre, or sending a request to our Privacy Team will depend on the type of enquiry you have.
Visa currently held by the client
Call the Customer Service Centre for information about the:
- visa type
- visa start and expiry dates
- visa conditions
- current eVisa, if this is available.
Some older visas are not available from the Customer Service Centre. You can, however, send a request to the Privacy Team for confirmation of your client's visa status.
Applications completed
Call the Customer Service Centre if you wish to:
- be sent a current eVisa, if it is available (regardless of date of decision)
- discuss the decision letter content and any relevant immigration instructions
- be advised of the timeframes and process for reconsideration requests
- be resent decision letters for previous applications.
Send a request to the Privacy Team for:
- copies of correspondence to, or from, Immigration New Zealand staff
- interview transcripts or summaries
- information about records of visa applications.
Previous visas held, or application history
Call the Customer Service Centre to get previous application information, such as:
- date
- type
- outcome
- ANZSCO codes used in a visa assessment.
They can also tell you if your client has ever:
- acted unlawfully
- been issued with a Deportation Liability Notice.
Send a request to the Privacy Team for:
- periods of time the client was unlawful
- detailed reasons for previous visa declines, such as copies of file notes and/or assessment templates
- previous s61 decision records.
Application processing
Call the Customer Service Centre for:
- visa application processing updates (if the application has been allocated to an immigration officer)
- details of letters sent to the client (or you as their LIA or lawyer) and get them re-sent if available.
Send a request to the Privacy Team for:
- copies of Immigration New Zealand correspondence (such as emails from an immigration officer)
- interview transcripts
- copies of file notes.
Medicals
Call the Customer Service Centre for:
- the date and type of medical
- the date of a chest X-ray
- the outcome of any medical assessment (acceptable standard of health or otherwise)
- any further medical requirements with the next application
- the eMedical reference (NZER) number
- a copy of the eMedical certificate which shows any further medical requirements requested with the next application.
Police certificates
Call the Customer Service Centre to give you police certificate:
- dates
- countries.
Send a request to the Privacy Team for copies of police certificates.
Travel movements
Call the Customer Service Centre for:
- arrival and departure dates
- complete travel movements.
Complete travel movements can also be requested from the Privacy Team.
Verbatim (word for word) copies of file notes
Send a request to the Privacy Team for verbatim copies of file notes.
The Customer Service Centre cannot provide these.
Update contact details
Call the Customer Service Centre to update a client's:
- contact details
- LIA or lawyer details.
Immigration New Zealand (INZ) staff contact details
Mobile phone numbers for INZ staff cannot be shared.
Call the Customer Service Team to get an INZ immigration officer or immigration manager's:
- name
- phone number (DDI).
The Customer Service Team cannot share Immigration New Zealand staff contact details for applications that have not yet been allocated to an immigration officer, whether they are paper-based or submitted online.
If a visa application has yet to be allocated to an immigration officer, you can request for it to be allocated urgently.