How do I check whether an immigration adviser is licensed?

The Immigration Advisers Authority publishes a public register of every licensed immigration adviser, linked from iaa.govt.nz as "Find an adviser". Sections 77 to 80 of the Immigration Advisers Licensing Act 2007 require it to be public and free to search, and to carry each adviser's licence number or other unique identifier.

Search by the individual's name, not the company's. The IAA is blunt about this: "Companies cannot be licensed, only individuals can." A licensed adviser may work at a firm, but the licence belongs to the person doing your work — so the name to check is the name of the person answering your emails.

Check the status, not just the presence of a record. The IAA notes that a licence can be expired, surrendered, refused, suspended or cancelled, and that licences are valid for one year. An adviser can also give you a digital licence certificate with a QR code that links to their register profile — scan it and see where it lands.

Not all licences allow all work. The IAA publishes three types:

• Full — "Can provide advice on all immigration matters."
• Provisional — "Can provide advice on all immigration matters but must be supervised by a full licence holder." Every adviser starts here, for two years, under direct supervision.
• Limited — "Can only provide advice on certain immigration matters", with the permitted matters recorded on the licence itself.

So if the register shows a limited licence, read what it is limited to and check that it covers your visa category. A limited licence is a real licence; it is just not a licence for everything.

Section 11 of the Act exempts a defined list. The people you are most likely to actually encounter are:

• Lawyers, and employees of lawyers and incorporated law firms — a New Zealand lawyer with a current practising certificate does not need an immigration adviser licence, and will not be on the IAA register. Check the Law Society register instead.
• Public service employees, which is how Immigration New Zealand's own staff can help you.
• Community law centre staff and volunteers, and Citizens Advice Bureau staff and volunteers.
• People advising informally or in a family context, where it is neither systematic nor for a fee — the friend-and-family exemption.
• Members of Parliament and their staff, and foreign diplomatic and consular staff.
• Advisers offshore advising only on student visas.

Section 12(6) is worth knowing because it explains an apparent absence: "A lawyer or a category 2 exemptee may neither apply for, nor hold, a licence." A lawyer not being on the register is not a red flag. A person who claims to be an adviser not being on the register is.

Section 9 of the Act means an application prepared by somebody who is neither licensed nor exempt must be refused. Not "may be looked at more closely" — refused. So an unlicensed helper can cost you the application and the fee as well as whatever you paid them.

The penalties fall on the adviser, and they are heavy. The IAA's own wording: "you could face a fine of up to NZ$100,000 and/or up to 7 years' imprisonment — even if you don't charge a fee for your advice." Section 64 and section 65 add 2 years and a $10,000 fine for holding yourself out as licensed, and section 68 the same for employing an unlicensed adviser. Section 75 sets no limitation period at all for the knowing offences.

The IAA takes complaints about unlicensed advisers by email at iaa.investigations@mbie.govt.nz, and these complaints can be made anonymously. It says investigations take from 3 months to over a year.

The line that matters most if you are worried about your own position: "Providing New Zealand immigration advice when not licensed or exempt is an offence under New Zealand law. However, making a complaint to us about someone who is doing this will not affect your immigration status."

A different process, with different rules. The IAA publishes a "Complaint about Adviser" form; it is free to complain; you do not have to be the person who received the advice; and there is a 2-year limit after an adviser ceases to be licensed.

Two things to be clear about before you start: anonymous complaints are not accepted for licensed advisers, and "You cannot withdraw a complaint that you have made." The outcome is either closure with reasons or referral to the Immigration Advisers Complaints and Disciplinary Tribunal, which can impose penalties up to $10,000 plus costs, refunds and compensation.