The Immigration Amendment Bill has passed it’s first reading on 24 June 2025. In New Zealand, a bill needs to pass three readings and receive “Royal assent” to become law.

This Amendment Bill targets the ‘day to day’ of immigration processes, and represents one of the first major changes to New Zealand Immigration Law since 2015.

As the Bill has passed the first reading, conventional assumption is that the final outcome will not be too far off from the current proposal.

The proposed changes are in 10 parts. Here is a quick run down of what they mean:

What does it mean?

Generally we can see the trend is that immigration costs are about to go up, drastically in some circumstances.

It is encouraging that there will be a requirement for Immigration Officers to follow more due process before enforcement, a stark contrast to ICE trends in certain other countries. The idea of human rights being taken more seriously as opposed to unlawful detention is an expansion consistent with international conventions on personal and civil rights.

The most intriguing is proposal 8, which is to make it an offence to charge premiums for employment. It may be hard to enforce, where for example, such offenders charge money for employment outside of New Zealand. In such cases, legally and jurisdictionally it will become a technical challenge for the Immigration Department to take action. However, there have been a successful joint venture between New Zealand and Thailand which saw charges being laid against 8 fraudulent agents operating in Thailand. Read more here International cooperation brings down visa fraud operation

The main take-away is that if you are planning on making a move to New Zealand you should be aware that fees will be in for a big hike in the near future.

Disclaimer: This article is general commentary only and is not legal advice. Always seek tailored legal advice before making investment or immigration decisions.