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Problems

When something goes wrong

Almost everything on this page has a deadline attached. Working out which one applies to you, today, matters more than understanding the whole system.

The short answer

What should you do if your New Zealand visa is declined or you get a PPI letter?

Find the deadline before anything else. Almost every option after a decline or a letter about potentially prejudicial information is time limited and counted in days, and the clock runs from the date you were notified rather than the day you read it. A residence class appeal must reach the Immigration and Protection Tribunal, with the fee, within 42 days of that notification. A PPI letter is not a decline: it is the last point at which the outcome can still change.

  • PPI stands for potentially prejudicial information. It means Immigration New Zealand is giving you the chance to respond before deciding.
  • Decline letters distinguish between an officer not being satisfied about something and a finding on character or credibility. The first is often fixable; the second follows you into every future application.
  • Residence class decisions can generally be appealed to the Immigration and Protection Tribunal within 42 days of being notified. Most temporary visa declines cannot be appealed the same way, and the practical route is a fresh application.
  • Leaving New Zealand, or not responding, closes options that were still open. If you cannot meet a deadline, ask for more time before it passes.
  • Staying after your visa expires makes you unlawfully in New Zealand, and the situation gets harder with time rather than easier.

Time is the thing that is actually against you

People in trouble with an immigration matter usually spend the first week trying to understand the system. That is the wrong use of the week. Nearly every option here is time limited, several of the limits are counted in days, and the clock runs from the date you were notified of the decision rather than the day you opened the envelope.

For a residence class appeal that limit is 42 days source , and the Tribunal must have both the appeal and the fee inside it. Where a decision was posted or couriered, the count starts from the day it was delivered to your contact address, which is not necessarily the date printed on the letter. It includes weekends.

So before reading anything else: find the date you were notified, find the deadline, and work out how many days are left. Everything else can be worked out afterwards. Options that have expired cannot be recovered by understanding them better.

Read what the letter actually says

Immigration decision letters are more precise than they look. There is a real difference between an officer who is not satisfied that a requirement was met, and one who has found a character or credibility problem. The first is often a documentation gap that a fresh application can fix. The second follows you into every application you make afterwards, and needs to be dealt with directly.

If you cannot tell which one you have received, that alone is a good reason to have the letter read by someone licensed.

Do not disappear, and do not leave

Two responses make things materially worse. Going quiet, because a deadline passes and a decision gets made without your side of it. And leaving New Zealand, because being offshore closes some options and changes which rules apply to you.

If you genuinely cannot meet a deadline, ask for more time before it passes. A request made in advance is a normal part of the process; the same request made afterwards usually is not.

Reapplying is not always the answer

After a decline the instinct is to apply again straight away. That works when the problem was a missing document and you now have it. It does not work when the problem was the reason underneath, and a second decline on the same grounds leaves you worse off than the first.

The question to answer before paying another fee is not "what did I leave out" but "what was the officer not satisfied about, and has that changed".

First four steps

What to do in the first 24 hours

In this order. The first two take twenty minutes and change what the rest of it costs you.

  1. Find the date

    Nearly every option in immigration has a deadline attached, and it runs from the date you were notified of the decision, not the day you got round to reading it. For a posted or couriered decision that is the date it was delivered to your contact address, which is not always the date printed on the letter. Find that date first and work out what it means.

  2. Read what was actually decided

    Decision letters distinguish between not being satisfied about something and refusing on character or credibility grounds. Those are very different positions, and they leave different options open.

  3. Do not leave, and do not stop responding

    Leaving the country, or going quiet, closes options that were still available. If you cannot meet a deadline, say so before it passes rather than after.

  4. Get licensed advice while options remain

    Most of the situations on this page get narrower with time. The cheapest point to get advice is the day the letter arrives, not the week the deadline expires.

Situations

Find the one you are in

Each of these has its own deadlines and its own options. Start with the one that describes your letter, not the one that describes your worry.

Questions

Common questions

What is a PPI letter?

PPI stands for potentially prejudicial information. It means Immigration New Zealand has information that may lead to your application being declined, and is giving you the opportunity to comment before deciding. It is not a decline. It is the last point at which you can change the outcome, and it has a response deadline that is generally short.

My visa expired while I was waiting. What happens now?

If your visa has expired you are unlawfully in New Zealand, which affects what you can apply for and can lead to deportation liability. Options still exist, including a request under section 61, and they narrow the longer the situation continues. This is one of the clearest cases for getting licensed advice immediately rather than waiting to see what happens.

Can I appeal a declined visa?

It depends on the type of visa. Residence class decisions can generally be appealed to the Immigration and Protection Tribunal, which must receive the appeal and the fee within 42 days of the date you were notified of the decision. If the decision came by post or courier, those 42 days run from the date it was delivered to your contact address rather than the date on the letter, and they include weekends. Temporary visa declines usually cannot be appealed in the same way, and the practical route is a fresh application that addresses the reason for the decline. The decision letter itself normally states which applies to you.

Should I just apply again?

Sometimes that is exactly right, and sometimes it repeats the same failure at full cost. Reapplying without addressing the specific reason for the decline rarely changes the answer, and a second decline on the same grounds is harder to recover from than the first.

Someone charged me for immigration advice and now they have disappeared.

Giving immigration advice in New Zealand without a licence or an exemption is a criminal offence. The Immigration Advisers Authority takes complaints about both licensed advisers and unlicensed people, and you do not need to know which category the person falls into to make one.

Where this comes from

Immigration New Zealand publishes the rules and can change them without notice. These are the pages this one is based on. If something here and something there disagree, Immigration New Zealand is right.

Licensed advice

If a deadline is running, do not wait

Most of the situations on this page get harder with time rather than easier. A licensed adviser can tell you which options are still open in your case, and how long they stay open.

In New Zealand it is a criminal offence to give immigration advice without a licence or an exemption. ProVisas holds IAA licence 201301110.

Talk to a licensed adviser +64 22 112 1112