Planning a New Zealand visa from Vietnam? A $90 million gap could change your costs

News · 2026-09-04 · 3 min read

Do you want to work in New Zealand? Then you will pay visa fees. Many people do not know where those fees go. This article explains a big money problem at Immigration New Zealand (INZ), and what it may mean for your costs.

What happened?

INZ has a $90 million shortfall in its visa accounts this year. A shortfall means there is less money than needed. A new fee review is planned before the end of 2026. The last review was barely two years ago.

Why is there a gap?

There are two main reasons. The first is Our Future Services. This is an $336 million programme to automate INZ's work. It is still in its early years. The second is a failed computer project called the Biometric Capability Update (BCU). Biometric data means things like fingerprints and photos. The project ran for seven years, from 2018 to late 2025. It was stopped, and nothing useful came from it.

The costs keep growing. The Budget in 2026 wrote off $31.2 million. Then another $6 million appeared in July 2026. By early September 2026, known losses were near $40 million. INZ could also owe its contractor up to $12 million. There could be penalty charges of up to $750,000 per month too. An inquiry is now underway.

Was the new programme better?

Not so far. A review found the plan for Our Future Services promised too much in savings. It counted on cutting 118 full-time roles. It also promised a 30% gain in productivity. But student visa processing is only 7–20% above the starting level. The programme has been rated "high risk."

Who pays for INZ?

Since the 2024 changes, INZ gets most of its money from the people who use it. In 2024/25 the money came from about 50% fees, 40% levies and just 9% from general taxes. A levy is an extra charge added to a fee. This means about 91 cents of every dollar comes from migrants and the employers who sponsor them.

The 2024 changes already raised some prices. Skilled residence visa fees went from $4,290 to $6,450. Student visa fees doubled to $750. INZ also expects its computer costs to grow fourfold, from $13.3 million in 2024/25 to $58.2 million by 2027/28.

Will my fees go up?

Nobody can say for sure. But the ministry said it needs spending cuts and "revenue recovery measures" to return the visa account to surplus. So higher charges are possible. People who had nothing to do with the failed project may pay for it.

How to plan

Check the fees on the official New Zealand visa pages. Do not trust old numbers.
Keep extra money in your plan in case fees change.
Prepare documents early: certified English translations of Vietnamese documents where the visa rules ask, and the Judicial Record Certificate No. 2 (Phiếu lý lịch tư pháp số 2) if a police certificate is requested. Take IELTS or PTE only if the visa or employer needs it.
Stay safe. Pay visa fees only through official channels. Deal only with licensed organisations and real employers. Never pay an unlicensed broker, and be careful with anyone who asks for money upfront to "secure" a job or a visa.

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