Blog
The Problem of Unlawful Children
Just as I was going to write something for this blog, Immigration New Zealand released a change in its Instructions, namely, that any Residence application made by a family "must be declined" if any of their dependent children are in the country unlawfully. This has...
Partnership Visa Decisions: Consistency and Transparency in INZ Decision-Making
Partnership visa decisions can have profound consequences for couples and families, particularly when an application determines whether partners can live together in New Zealand. For applicants dealing with Immigration New Zealand (INZ), the issue is not simply...
James’ trip to Sydney
In November 2025 I travelled to Melbourne, Australia, subsequently writing a blog article here with some of my thoughts, relating to how I found it in Melbourne, bearing in mind an ongoing message we hear a lot in New Zealand, that the 'grass is greener' in Australia...
A Feast of Pre-Election Immigration Policies
[The following is adapted from my Chairman's article for the monthly e-News published by the NZ Association for Migration & Investment on 18 September 2026.] In my brief opening address to the NZAMI Annual Conference on 11 September, I described it as an...
New Zealand Resident Visa Health Changes: Hepatitis B and C no longer automatically high-cost conditions
From 3 August 2026, INZ removed hepatitis B and hepatitis C from the high-cost health conditions list used when assessing whether resident visa applicants meet New Zealand’s acceptable standard of health requirements. This is an important change for people with...
Ways ‘human rights’ Conventions can be relevant in immigration decision-making
'Human rights' are words sometimes loosely referred to in the context of different types of decision making which can affect a person. Often the phrase is inaccurately applied, or there is a misunderstanding as to what it means. I will discuss the topic a bit here and...