The New Zealand Government has announced a substantial increase in visa fees and levies, set to take effect from October 1, 2024. According to the latest updates on the New Zealand immigration website, the fee adjustments will impact nearly all visa categories. This move is part of the government’s effort to better align charges with the actual costs of processing visa applications.
According to Erica Stanford, the minister of immigration for New Zealand, the revisions aim to make the immigration system more sustainable and to shift a larger portion of the system’s administration costs from New Zealand taxpayers to visa applicants.
“Until now, our immigration system has been heavily subsidized by taxpayers. The changes we’re making are shifting the cost to those benefitting from the system. We’re ensuring it is self-funding and more efficient
The new charges reflect the costs associated with visa processing, assessing and managing more high-risk applications, and increased compliance costs…[However,] the charges remain competitive in comparison to countries like Australia and the United Kingdom so we are confident New Zealand will continue to be an attractive destination to live, work, study and visit.” said the Minister.
