IPT Appeals and Ministerial Requests
Immigration Protection Tribunal Appeals
Immigration Protection Tribunal (IPT) is an independent jurisdiction established under the Immigration Act 2009 to hear appeals. IPT decides appeals made against Immigration New Zealand decisions related to visas and deportation liabilities of individuals. It must be noted that there is a very narrow time window to lodge an appeal. If this time is lapsed then The IPT will not hear the appeal. People who become unlawful can also submit to The Tribunal an appeal against their deportation liability, however, there is high threshold for The Tribunal to cancel deportation liability and grant a visa. Making an appeal is a very technical area of immigration work, it is usually the last avenue a person can seek a visa in New Zealand’s immigration system. Seeking help from an immigration specialist is therefore strongly recommended.
Ministerial Requests
Under the Immigration Act 2009, the Minister of Immigration has “absolute discretion” to grant any visa to anyone. The Minister of Immigration may give a special direction to Immigration New Zealand or any immigration officer to issue, suspend, cancel and revoke any visas. The Minister of Immigration may not necessarily hear any request put in front of him/her. Only cases with exceptional circumstances or backgrounds may warrant the Minister of Immigration to give a special direction. Similar to IPT Appeals, Ministerial Request or Intervetion is a very technical area of immigration work. Request should only be made carefully and sparingly.