Why does Immigration New Zealand make so many mistakes?

Ankur Sabharwal is the owner of immigration advisory Visa Matters. He is a licensed immigration adviser dealing with complex immigration matters.

OPINION: Ever wondered why Immigration New Zealand (INZ) makes errors in more than 40 per cent of resident visa applications which go to appeal?

It’s because INZ doesn’t learn from its mistakes.

Recently I discovered that INZ was preparing to decline some 2021 Resident Visa applications because applicants have not lived together in genuine and stable relationships with their partners overseas.

In other words, INZ was preparing to make a big mistake, one which it had made repeatedly in the past.

The issue is a little complicated, but I’ll try to explain it in a simple way.

It’s about split families

A lot of work visa holders in New Zealand have husbands or wives (and children) still living overseas.

In many cases, overseas partners have been declined temporary visas because they couldn’t prove having lived together in a relationship.

Now these people, who are still living apart, are applying together for residence under the 2021 Resident Visa category.

The Government requires that partners must be included in the residence application if they “have applied” for a temporary visa based on their relationship with their partner in New Zealand.

INZ takes this to mean that someone who has ever applied for a temporary visa based on their relationship with their partner – even if they have never been approved such a visa – must be included in their partner’s residence visa application.

What is INZ saying to these people?

INZ is now saying to these people, essentially: You have to include your partner in your residence application. Once you include your partner in your application, you can’t remove your partner from the application. If you still can’t prove that you have lived together as a couple, we are going to decline the whole application.

That is, everyone in the application will be declined, including the main applicant in New Zealand.

Not only is this unfair to the couple (who are being penalised for living apart, even though they have tried to be together), it’s also an incorrect interpretation of the rule INZ is meant to follow in this situation.

This rule says that, if the couple have not lived together in a genuine and stable relationship, INZ will continue to consider the main applicant’s eligibility for residence, but will not approve residence to the applicant’s partner who is included in the application.

INZ has a history of making this mistake

INZ has ignored this rule and declined applications previously – which have then been overturned on appeal at the Immigration and Protection Tribunal (IPT).

Here is one example. Here’s another … and another … and another.

Still, when asked earlier this month, the Practice Lead (chief technical expert) at the main INZ branch processing 2021 Resident Visa applications said applications could be declined if applicants could not prove having lived together in a relationship.

This has alarmed immigration advisers – an urgent meeting has been arranged with INZ to reconsider the issue. In the meantime, applications of “split families” who can’t prove living together are on hold.

INZ won’t say how many applications are being delayed while it dithers about what to do with overseas partners who have been included in those applications.

Don’t panic … yet

My message for split families applying for 2021 Resident Visas is ‘don’t panic yet’.

Even if INZ sticks to misunderstanding its own rules, the Immigration and Protection Tribunal (IPT) will point this out on appeal, and INZ’s decisions will be overturned.

The IPT found errors in 44 per cent of resident visa decline decisions which were appealed to the tribunal in 2020-21, leading to those decisions being overturned by the tribunal. The proportion of errors that INZ makes in its residence decision-making has actually increased since my last article on this topic, in December 2020.

It just seems a shame that INZ appears not to learn from its own mistakes, which the IPT keeps pointing out repeatedly.

Immigration Minister Kris Faafoi needs to fix INZ’s culture, which allows errors in nearly half of residence refusal decisions reviewed by the IPT, year after year after year.

DISCLAIMER: This article does not constitute immigration advice. Individuals need to seek personal advice from a New Zealand licensed immigration adviser or lawyer to assess their unique situation. Ankur can be contacted at info@visamatters.co.nz.