Our large group of independent immigration law professionals handles exclusively immigration matters - and we do it very well with huge expertise. We achieve thousands of visas each year for migrants and their families.

We are your Specialist Immigration Practice for all visas in New Zealand and Australia. We support employers and migrants with obtaining work and residence visas. We support families for coming together. We support students and visitors coming to this beautiful country to create a pathway to a career and residence. We fiercely support you during appeals and in the Tribunal. We leave no client ever behind!

With dozens of immigrations specialists available to support you, why would you work with only one adviser in isolation, or with unlicensed advisers overseas? With Barclays & Lloyds you have access to one of the largest groups of immigration experts in New Zealand, Australia and overseas. We offer you specialists for every type of New Zealand/Australia visa, and especially when your circumstances make visa applications complex.

We specialize in visa applications after there were prior declines or other adverse circumstances. 

With offices throughout New Zealand, in Melbourne, Bengaluru, Trinidad & Tobago and document acceptance and interviews also in München, Chicago, Denver, London, Cape Town and Genève, we are never far away to support you.

Make contact on WeChat, WhatsApp, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, eMail, etc. and reach us easily.

We process visas for New Zealand and Australia, with IAA-Licensed Immigration Advisers/Lawyers (for New Zealand) and MARA-Registered Migration Agents (for Australia).

Visitor visas are available for individual travelers or families, for a stay of 6 months maximum in any 12-month period when on a multiple-entry visa, or 9 months in any 18-month period when on a single entry visa.

Your primary intent must be to visit, although 'looking for a job' or 'getting married' is perfectly permissible as a reason to come to this beautiful country. You must show with detailed documentation and evidence that you have good grounds to return home after your visit. Applications from 'high risk' countries are scrutinized extensively. Many travelers from 'low risk' countries will be able to travel to New Zealand with their visa-waiver passport only.

A NZeTA is NO VISA, and cannot be used for travel to New Zealand by itself. 

You cannot get a visitor visa when you plan to remain in New Zealand. You can NEVER CONVERT a visitor visa into any other visa, but you can apply for a new and different visa while in New Zealand on a visitor visa.

It is important that you consider your ultimate migration plan for New Zealand before you apply for a visitor visa, to make sure that your applications are consistent into the future.

New Zealand offers world-class secondary and tertiary education, at schools, institutes and universities. After tertiary studies of Bachelor and higher, there are fast pathways to residence available.

For example: After a 12-month Masters study you can apply for residence after just 1 year of skilled work in New Zealand. We will get you enrolled at any institution in NZ when you qualify for the study program, and we will then apply for your student visa as a one-stop shop[ for both education admission and visa.

For some studies you can also bring family and a partner may get an open work visa while you study. Students in Bachelor/Masters/PhD qualifications can receive post-study open work visas of up to 3 years!

Be very careful to study 'low level' courses that do not lead to a Degree at Level 7 or higher (i.e. at least Bachelor), since they may not offer pathways to open work visas or towards residence.

We are experts in designing study plans that get you to residence, permanent residence and citizenship in New Zealand quickly!

Work visas require that a New Zealand employer supports your work visa application.

NO EMPLOYER = NO WORK VISA.

They must advertise the role and then apply for approval to hire you. You cannot apply for a work visa until your employer has this approval from Immigration New Zealand.

A job offer letter is insufficient for any visa application and means nothing. Any job for which you paid money does not count as a job you can use for a work visa application. DO NOT PAY ANYONE for a job in New Zealand, you are wasting your money, and it is in unlawful in New Zealand to take money for a job or job offer.

Work visas can be up to 5 years in duration and often are conditional on a specific employer, job and location.

Tertiary students and partners of some work visa holders, of residents and citizens can get open work visas, to work for any employer and job, anywhere in NZ, and conditions might apply to those visas.

It is relatively easy in New Zealand to become a Resident and Permanent Resident (after 2 years of residency) and Citizen (after 5 years of residency/permanent residence).

For a small group of occupations ("Green List") residence is either immediate or requires 2 years of work. For most other occupations, the Skilled Migrant Category (SMC6) is the pathway of choice and allows for residence applications when you have skilled employment and meet requirements.

Among other requirements, residence applications cut off at age 55. Age 55 is ok, age 56 is not. 

However, for parents/grandparents of residents and citizens there are visitor, residence and retirement visa options.

Employers now have an easy pathway to hire one or hundreds of qualified migrants, via the Accreditation pathway. We help employers becoming accredited with Immigration NZ. It usually takes a few weeks of time and comes with minimal burdens to the employer.

We then work with accredited employers to create Job Checks for new positions for which you wish to recruit migrants. A Job Check includes the advertising of each job to allow locals to apply and must meet specific requirements. Once no locals are suitable/available for this work, the employer applies to Immigration NZ for a Job Check approval.

Once a Job Check has been approved, the employer receives a Job Token from Immigration NZ which can be sent to the migrant. ONLY with this Job Token can the migrant apply for a work visa, and that work visa is then specific to the job in the Job Check approval. The migrant must then meet any qualification and experience requirements of the Job Check and be paid the wages advertised in the Job Check.

Work visas for those migrants can now be up to 5 years, giving employers certainty of retaining their talented staff. Median wage is required, and 1.5 x Median Wage allows a migrant to apply for residence after 3 years of skilled employment.

When immigration NZ demands additional information, indicates they will decline an application, are concerned about character/health issues or have already declined your application, it is time to call in the experts.

There are often reconsideration, appeal or character waiver options, and sometimes a strategic withdrawal and re-filing is the correct pathway to your visa success. New Zealand also allows Ministerial Directions that can be used for exceptions and override many immigration instructions.

DIY applications often are challenged by Immigration NZ when information is poorly presented or missing. Our advisers and lawyers are Complex Matter Practice experts and can help. Do not believe that a previous decline prevents you from trying again with a better application.

When you are before a Court in NZ it might well be that your visa status will be affected by any Court ruling and sentencing, and we provide Amicus Briefs (supporting material for defense lawyers and judges) on your behalf.

Congratulations to having found a new partner for eternal bliss. You now want your partner to join you in New Zealand.

There are several pathways, the most common is to first come as a visitor, then document the relationship and change to a partnership-based work visa, before 12 months of a relationship allow a residence application.

New Zealand parents of residents/citizens have opportunities to become residents in New Zealand, through sponsorship by their NZ-based resident children.

Sponsors must have minimum income and be eligible as sponsors. There is a ballot system in operation whereby Immigration NZ selects applicants through a draw.

Parents/Grandparents can also come as visitors.

It is quite common that workers want to change their jobs. For those work visa holders where a specific job is a condition of their work visa, a Job Change application must be submitted (or you can apply for a new work visa).

The new employer must complete a Job Check application and seek approval from Immigration NZ. Once the Job Token for the new job has been issued, the migrant can use that for a Job Change application. A work visa for the new job can then issue for the remaining length of the original work visa.

When you look for work in New Zealand, it makes little sense to only look where jobs for locals are advertised. 

Rather, you should list yourself on the largest web site in NZ where migrants put their details forwards (skills, qualifications, experience, languages, etc.), and employers can then seek you and consider you for work.

Until you qualify for medical coverage in New Zealand (with a visa of two years in duration or longer), it is advisable to have your own insurance from the moment you leave your home country, until you get coverage through the New Zealand public system.

Similarly, a Child protection Plan is highly recommended to protect family from disruptions when the migrant visa holder can no longer meet the visa obligations.

Our independent insurance specialist will be able to assess your requirements and recommend the appropriate coverage for your settling-in phase in New Zealand.

We often see clients who wish to change from their current adviser to one of our senior principal specialist advisers, since we offer outstanding expertise at very reasonable fees.

It is easy to change advisers, and your new Barclays & Lloyds adviser will work directly with your previous adviser, without you needing to be involved.

We take over applications already filed, still to be filed, previously declined, or where Immigration NZ is challenging the application. We often save you considerable fees and deliver expert knowledge and peer support for our advisers and lawyers. We keep you informed regularly about the progress of your application.

You can also ask us whether a proposed fee by another adviser of lawyer is reasonable for the work at hand, and we do not charge for any fee reviews.

DO NOT GET OVERCHARGED!

Dozens of advisers, lawyers, career experts, insurance specialists and other staff are here to support you. In our large group of independently practicing immigration experts, all specialist disciplines are represented.

We practice peer review among our advisers and lawyers, so that you never just have to rely on a single person's opinion. In traditional firms you depend on the wisdom only one person. In our large group practice hundreds of years of experience come together to produce thousands of successful visa applications each year - at very affordable fees.

Our fees are always clearly described before the work starts, so that there never are any surprises for you. We list our Fee Schedule here, for full transparency.

This is the fastest way to get an answer to a specific question, or to be assessed for any visa requirements - and from a professional rather than strangers on the internet...
 
After your payment, make contact and let us know the most convenient time/day for you, and one of our senior principal advisers will call you and answer your visa questions.

This is the fastest and cheapest approach for specific questions about visa circumstances. There is no commitment for any further charges or services.

Rather than getting free advice on social media where thousands of migrants post "Interested" or "Want a job", we offer a 90-day membership in a private Facebook group where you can ask questions and get answers from several of our advisers.

$43.45 gives you a 3-month membership for unlimited questions, answered in the group. This method works well for more general questions.

There is no obligation to ever pay anything more.

Our advisers and lawyers offer fully management visa solutions, where we assess you for eligibility, compile the required documents, produce the narratives for Immigration NZ and then submit and manage the application.

Inquire here about the professional fees for the management of any type of visa application.

Email us what visa you are considering, and we will let you know our fees for the complete management of your visa journey.

Advisers fees are prepaid (and add GST for applicants who are in NZ). INZ filing fees are always added.

We use Fee Table 11.552 of 2023, approved by the Council of Immigration Advisers and Lawyers Limited, for all of our adviser fees.

We publish our fees, because we think it is fair for anyone to see what our highly skilled professional experts charge for their time.

The fastest way to help you through the different visa choices in New Zealand, is our AI-based VisaHelper system. In the privacy of your home you can browse most of the visa options available in NZ, and learn about requirements and application process.

There is no cost for you to use VisaHelper, which is available 24/7/365.

This is a helpful pathway for you to determine yourself whether you might qualify for a specific visa. 

Come back frequently, as we add additional modules to VisaHelper all the time.

If you have found New Zealand employers that are interested to hire you, you will quickly learn that they are concerned about the time it might take for you to get a work visa. The longer it might take for your work visa to issue, the longer the delay is until you can start to work in New Zealand.

In this case, we can offer you a CIRAC Certificate of Work Visa Eligibility.

You can use a CIRAC Certificate to show an employer that you are likely to breeze through the work visa application process and thus are 'safe' to consider for employment. Of course, only Immigration NZ determines whether and how quickly, you may obtain your work visa.

When you believe that only the very best service will do, we offer a Council approach where a group of three senior principal specialist advisers will jointly work on your matter. The initial eligibility review will cost at least $2,260 for the adviser team, and the adviser fees for visas are additional costs. Each adviser has a limit of 5 Council clients at any one time, to have sufficient capacity for instant communication with clients.

Council work includes all post-filing communication with Immigration NZ at no extra cost (other than new submissions and filings), and Council clients have instant unlimited telephone/chat access to one of the senior principal advisers at no extra cost. Council clients are updated frequently and regularly as to the progress of their visa matter, through text messages.

Council work is available at the Council's discretion and may be declined if there insufficient capacity to offer this service.