INZ have decided to refund applicants with a Skilled Migrant or Residence from Work application in process should they no longer wish to obtain NZ residence. This resulted from an investigation into complaints that INZ were lacking in transparency over the implementation of prioritisation of certain applications over others.
If you wish to withdraw your residence application you are now able to request a refund of the INZ application fee…
Who qualifies for a refund?
The Ombudsman has recommended that for applicants who have been disadvantaged by the informal prioritisation criteria a refund should be given.
A refund can be given where:
- the Skilled Migrant / Residence from Work application was lodged between 1 July 2018 and 23 February 2020 (inclusive); and either:
- that application has not been allocated to an Immigration Officer (IO) at the time the request to withdraw the application with a refund is made; or
- that application has been allocated to an IO at the time the request to withdraw the application with a refund is made, but no assessment has been undertaken.
