KIWI at HOME Immigration Advice

KIWI at HOME Immigration Advice We are licensed Immigration Advisers dealing with visa applications, appeals and issues relating to We are fully licensed immigration advisers.

We specialize in NZ immigration law and help clients with their immigration and educational goals. Immigration advice is a professional legal service and we do our best to help people come to NZ to stay, study or live.

Refugee claims and thresholds are usually not well understood. Just because you don't like your home country, or there i...
18/08/2026

Refugee claims and thresholds are usually not well understood. Just because you don't like your home country, or there is a risk of ill treatment doesn't mean you can claim refugee status. The examples in the article show this really well, the successful applicants mentioned were successful because although they had dual US / Jordan citizenship it was likely that the US would deport them to Jordan. The threshold for cruel or degrading treatment was assessed with respect to Jordan, not the US.

A US citizen may actually be at risk of various harm / death / prejudice and so on just by living in the US, but there is a presumption that the US authorities will actually (try to) protect against this, so a refugee claim is doomed to fail. Even though in the US many people are actually subject to arbitary death, torture and so on through gun violence, prejudice, unaffordable health care, etc, because this is not actually sanctioned or ignored by the authorities it will not meet the threshold for a refugee status claim.

Government figures show more than 20 Americans have applied for asylum in New Zealand since 2020 - and at least one family was accepted.

Also a job offer that will be suitable for a visa is generally one that you have got yourself. If you haven't serached f...
27/07/2026

Also a job offer that will be suitable for a visa is generally one that you have got yourself. If you haven't serached for the employer and had some communication with them directly this is also a red flag.

🚩 Someone wants money for a job? That's not an opportunity. It's a red flag.

Scammers may promise jobs, visas, or a pathway to stay in New Zealand if you pay upfront. Before you hand over your money, stop and check the facts.
A genuine job should pay you. Not the other way around.

👉 Learn more: https://www.immigration.govt.nz/about-us/news-centre/immigration-scams/

This could be interesting, but I wouldn't expect too much. The government has always been a bit negative on parent resid...
22/07/2026

This could be interesting, but I wouldn't expect too much. The government has always been a bit negative on parent residence, but removing some of the randomness from the EOI process would be a step in the right direction.

The government is set to make clear the future of residence options for parents of migrant New Zealanders.

A good update as the new SMC is approaching. Still as the fine details have not been written into law there are some unk...
17/06/2026

A good update as the new SMC is approaching. Still as the fine details have not been written into law there are some unknowns, but overall there are 2 take-aways from this:

1. It will allow a broader range of people to meet the eligibility requirements if they are in genuine skillled employment and are genuinely suitable.
2. Assessment of things like skilled work experience is going to be tougher. It is pretty tough now, but when they mean is that actual strong evidence (in a legal sense) is going to be an absolute requirement rather then leaving it to INZ to figure out.

I think it is this second point which is going to catch a lot of people out because even now we see a lot of (self made) residence applications fail from a lack of proper evidence because what the average person perceives as being sufficient evidence is just not enough.

Immigration New Zealand (INZ) is announcing final details on changes to the Skilled Migrant Category (SMC) ahead of these changes taking effect on 24 August 2026. In addition, INZ is also announcing changes to the wage rate rules for the Work to Residence (WTR) pathway.

More "business as usual" kind of stuff from INZ. This kind of thinking is also apprent in how visa applications are mana...
16/06/2026

More "business as usual" kind of stuff from INZ. This kind of thinking is also apprent in how visa applications are managed and any time there is clear factual information that conflicts with a personal agenda. You would have to be incredibly naive to think that any government department in any country operates with fairness and integrity, but sadly a lot of migrants believe it to be true because it is written on the website...

The Immigration Minister says more than $30m was wasted and two governments weren't told the truth.

English requirements coming for skill level 3 occupations too
24/05/2026

English requirements coming for skill level 3 occupations too

The changes will apply from the beginning of next month.

It is probably a timely reminder that what political parties throw around pre-election is not an indication of what will...
13/05/2026

It is probably a timely reminder that what political parties throw around pre-election is not an indication of what will really happen. When Luxon talks about "careful immigration" that could mean anything. Careful is what we have alraedy and being careful could equally mean not cutting off the availability of skilled and non skilled workers to NZ businesses, especially when you want the economy to grow.

It's the latest example of internal coalition friction as New Zealand First continues to rail against the FTA's "ludicrous immigration implications".

The reality with this kind of law change is that it mainly impacts people who don't take the immigration process serious...
27/04/2026

The reality with this kind of law change is that it mainly impacts people who don't take the immigration process seriously, which is probably the majority of the people that the Government identify as being problematic, but the problem is that it also catches out the ones who find themselves in a tricky situation through no fault of their own.

Advocates are concerned the government is taking New Zealand down a path to US-style crackdowns on overstayers and asylum seekers.

Generally if you are not involved in the job interview and visa application process at all then it is almost certainly a...
16/04/2026

Generally if you are not involved in the job interview and visa application process at all then it is almost certainly a scam.

🚨Watch out for fake job offers🚨

New Zealand employers cannot charge you fees for a job or make you pay any of their recruitment costs. This includes indirectly through a third party who then demands you pay them.

If you see these signs of a scam, stop and take extra precautions. Ask questions and seek official advice: https://www.immigration.govt.nz/work/protecting-yourself-from-immigration-scams/

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