Immigration Agenets to Study in New Zealand

To travel to New Zealand (NZ) as a student, you can contact an Immigration Agent who can advise and support you in your school admission process and your student visa application. The courses you can take through these agencies cover various topics and levels, such as English courses (all levels and exam preparation like TOEFL), diplomas (Design, Advertising, Computing, and Business), bachelor's degrees (in all areas offered by universities), and postgraduate degrees (Master's and PhDs in different fields of specialisation). There are several advantages why you should contact these Immigration Agents, including to make your admission and visa application process easier and cheaper.

Advantages of contacting an Immigration Agent

Firstly, note that the New Zealand government, through the Immigration Advisers Authority, regulates these Migration Agents, meaning they are licensed to carry out their activities as immigration advisors. In NZ, it is illegal to provide migration advice without a license granted for that practice in this country (however, there are some exceptions, including lawyers registered with the Supreme Court and volunteers from the Citizens Advice Bureau). The licenses granted to these agents can be of three types: Full (can provide any kind of migration advice), Provisional (can provide any kind of migration advice but must be supervised by a Full license holder), and Limited (can only advise on certain types of matters).

Secondly, the advisory services for student visas are generally free. This is because Immigration Agents make agreements with educational institutions to attract international students in exchange for a commission. Therefore, they can offer their advice for free as they receive a benefit for each international student enrolled in the programme. However, some expenses may need to be covered, such as document translation and certification. You may also have to pay the visa application fees. For some students applying online from certain countries, the process is free.

Thirdly, some of these Immigration Agents have additional knowledge about health and travel insurance, airport transfers, home-stays with local families, tour discounts, and can support you during and after your studies to integrate into the workforce. Additionally, Immigration Agents constantly update themselves on regulatory topics through conferences and direct contact with Immigration New Zealand. In NZ, laws in this area are very dynamic and frequently change. All this can be very helpful if it's your first time undergoing such a process, if your children are travelling alone, or if you simply want to rely on someone with knowledge and experience.These advantages seem sufficient to consider hiring the services of a licensed Migration Agent. 

How to contact an Immigration Agent? 

You could do this though Pink Fern Consulting (get in touch with us) or through the Immigration Advisers Authority's website go to "Find an Adviser" where you can check if the you have been talking to  or want to talk to Agent is licensed and what type of license they have. The Agent's obligations when providing services are also specified on that website as well as your rights during the process. You can also review the terms of the service contract that you will be signing with the Agent and, in case of a complaint, you can file it through this website.

A tip for searching is to go to the "Find an adviser" section, and in the top right corner, you will find the "Browse current advisers" section. Select "Last name" to see an alphabetical list of all Migration Agents. These individuals may be New Zealanders but also from other nationalities, so if you feel more comfortable speaking in your own language than English, look for someone with a  surname that sounds familiar and contact them.

Another option is to search on Google with keywords like Immigration Adviser in New Zealand, Immigration Agencies for New Zealand in your country of residence, or Immigration Adviser in New Zealand.

How to choose an Immigration Agent? 

The offer of these Agents is vast, so it is important to ensure that the person you are hiring is honest, experienced, and professional in their services. 

Therefore, you can contact Pink Fern Consulting for us to refer you to reliable Immigration Advisers. Alternatively, you can contact at least 3 or 4 Agents. Generally, the contact methods are email, video call, or WhatsApp. Explain your situation and evaluate their responses. Ask if they can support you with the admission process, what are their services, costs, response times, offers, and their strategies to assist you during your admission and arrival (and adaptation) in the country. Some of these agencies have staff in other countries with physical offices where you can go for an interview and learn more about their services.

Once you compare these points, you can make a more informed decision and consider whether you need the support of one of these Immigration Agents. Remember that there are different types of student visas to enter New Zealand, depending on your nationality, age (over or under 18), and the duration of the course or degree you will study. A benefit of these visas is that students may have the right to work part-time (20 hours a week) to supplement their savings and cover living expenses in the country. To check the information and characteristics of each of these visas, you can check Immigration New Zealand's website.

Insights from Pink Fern Consulting founder, Maria Nieto

In my experience of studying an LLM in New Zealand, hiring a Immigration Agent was very helpful. Mainly because they helped me with my student visa and a partner work visa for my partner. The Immigration Agent I hired had an office in Colombia that supported me step by step in organising, filling out forms, and reviewing the documentation needed to process both visas. (Note: I was in Mexico working full time, but with the attention and support of the person in Colombia, who had a similar time zone to mine, the responses were generally quick).

Unfortunately, before starting my admission process, I was unaware of all this information, so I had to cover the admission and Immigration Agent's service costs. Nonetheless, once my partner and I received our visas (study and work, respectively), we did not rehire the Agent's services for the visa renewal, nor did I hire them for the visa application process after finishing my studies. The reason: I studied the process on my own and believe that what I learned during the first visa process was enough to apply for the subsequent visas. Another reason was that I had access to free services that can support me with migration issues through the university.

We hope this article has been helpful. Note that this Immigration Agents model is repeated in other countries like Canada, the United States, and some in Europe. If you are considering travelling for this purpose, we recommend you to learn about the benefits of hiring one of these agents. Good luck!