Having a criminal record overseas or in New Zealand or being charged with any criminal offence in the past can result in your New Zealand visa application being delayed or rejected.  When you declare your criminal history to Immigration New Zealand, a criminal record character waiver may be required.

There are often extenuating circumstances with any criminal matters & these will need to be explained carefully to the case officer processing your application at Immigration New Zealand.

If you or someone in your family has a criminal record it is important to take legal advice before submitting your visa application to Immigration New Zealand.

We can discuss & assess your criminal record character waiver options in detail & advise on the likely outcome of any application before you make this.

We can also provide expert opinions on the visa impact of criminal records to Criminal lawyers for use in Court Proceedings.

Immigration can be a long & expensive process, so it pays to seek professional advice before hand.  If you wait until INZ assess your application & identify a criminal issue & prepare for a character waiver, then it may be too late to deal with this.

We can prepare strong legal submissions to support your visa application character waiver if you have a criminal record. This may involve reviewing your sentencing reports, criminal records, lawyers’ letters & other documents to present your visa application in the best possible light.

Strong legal representation is essential for anyone with criminal records or issues seeking to migrate to New Zealand.