Immigration New Zealand has announced their Government fees and levies have increased for most visa applications. This action has coincided with our borders opening on 31 July 2022 and some of these increases are quite substantial.
The last review of fees was carried out in 2018, and some of the largest increases include the resident visas:
- Skilled Migrant Category (SMC) for applicants outside of New Zealand and the Pacific increasing by just over 47% (from NZ$3310 to NZ$4890)
- Investor Category for applicants outside of New Zealand and the Pacific increasing by just over 56% (from NZ$4960 to NZ$7780)
- Entrepreneur Residence Category increasing by just over 65% (from NZ$4140 to NZ$6860)
- Residence from Work Category increasing by just over 135% (from NZ$1800 to NZ$4240)
Whilst the new Accredited Employer visas was opened only recently, that too has increased by 26% from NZ$595 to NZ$750 as at 31 July. The costs for employers has not increased, with no changes to fees for accreditation or job checks.
We are hoping that this increase in fees will mean more consistent and timely processing from Immigration New Zealand, and you can see the full list of Government fees and their changes at: Changes to fee and levy rates 2022 (immigration.govt.nz)
