Immigration New Zealand information sheet
An Ombudsman may investigate:
- Decisions made by Immigration New Zealand on:
- temporary entry (visas and permits for long term business, work, students, visitors, limited purposes);
- residence (where no rights of appeal exist, or where the right of appeal does not, in the Ombudsman’s view, constitute an adequate remedy);
- section 35A requests;
- special directions; and
- revocations
- Advice provided by Immigration New Zealand to the Minister or Associate Minister of Immigration. (An Ombudsman cannot, however, investigate a Minister’s decision).
- Administrative issues relating to the processing of any application (including residence and refugee status applications before any decision is made). For example:
- refusal to accept an application for lodgement;
- delay in processing an application;
- failure to respond to correspondence; and
- failure to consider relevant information (or considering irrelevant information).
However, as an Ombudsman’s investigation is one of last resort, the matter should first be raised with the Department of Labour, of which Immigration New Zealand is part. A complaint can be made by writing to:
The Deputy Secretary – Workforce
Department of Labour
PO Box 3705
Wellington
If the Department does not provide a satisfactory response, a complaint may then be made to an Ombudsman. In urgent cases, where the complainant is in New Zealand unlawfully, an Ombudsman may be willing to consider investigating even if a complaint has not first been made to the Department.
An Ombudsman would not normally investigate:
- Decisions made by Immigration New Zealand on residence (if there is a right of appeal).
This is because there is a right of appeal to the Residence Review Board. While an Ombudsman is not prevented from investigating residence decisions, the Ombudsman will not normally investigate a complaint if existing appeal rights provide an adequate remedy. - Decisions made by Immigration New Zealand on refugee status or deportation.
This is because there are rights of appeal to the Refugee Status Appeals Authority and the Deportation Review Tribunal. An Ombudsman is not normally authorised to investigate decisions that are subject to rights of appeal to a Tribunal, whether or not the right of appeal has been exercised.