New visa fee rises could be seen as a 'hidden tax' for those coming to NZ. FIle photo. Photo: RNZ / Marika Khabazi
- Immigration adviser says INZ could fall foul of the law for not clearly advertising prices to travellers and students
- INZ says it has updated its website to reflect visa fee rises and an increase to the international visitor levy (IVL)
- 100,000 people last year paid for an IVL despite not being allowed to visit
Overseas tourists and students will be hit with a 'hidden tax' when they apply for visas and they risk being misled about the cost, according to an immigration adviser.
The International Visitor Conservation and Tourism Levy (IVL) is rising from $35 to $100 next month, and is a mandatory charge - paid when travellers apply for a visa or New Zealand Electronic Travel Authority (NZeTA)
But Auckland adviser Alain Koetsier said customers would find it hard to track the total price from the Immigration New Zealand (INZ) website.
Student visas did not get a mention in the tourism minister's announcement, he said, and he had struggled to find out for sure what they would pay when the charges come into force on 1 October.
"Immigration New Zealand has obligations under commercial law to advertise clear prices," he said. "If you go to a supermarket and something's advertised for $100 and at the checkout, they're suddenly charging you $200, I think not only is it unfair it's also potentially illegal.
"You could call it a hidden tax, because no one really knows who's going to pay and who doesn't. And even me, I mean, I read the law, I read the regulations and the immigration instructions, even I can't figure it out. So you can imagine a member of the public would be even less clear about whether or not they're going to pay the IVL.
"Some people might think they're going to pay it, but they don't. Other people might think they're not going to pay it, but they will. That's not an acceptable situation when we're only a few weeks away from a price change."
He said changes made after he complained were better, but the website remained unclear.
"There is still no 'total price for a visa' anywhere to be seen, and the IVL is elucidated only be saying that 'some people' need to pay it, and there is a link to the extremely misleading Beehive announcement that (wrongly) says it is a tax on visitors, and another link to a somewhat better but still quite vague MBIE site on the IVL."
Who pays what
The amount of the IVL increase was criticised by groups such as the Tourism Industry Aotearoa (TIA), tourism operators and migrants, but backed by the Green Party.
Immigration minister Erica Stanford revealed the visa fees rises in August, followed by the tourism minister Matt Doocey earlier this month announcing the rise to $100 for the visitor levy. Koetsier said that added to the confusion.
"The visa fee change was not coordinated well with the IVL increase, since they were announced a whole month apart," he said. "The IVL has been presented as a "tax on tourists" but it is nothing of the sort, since non-visitor categories may be charged an IVL, most notably students."
The levy increase on NZeTAs (for visitors from 'visa-waiver' countries) will see today's price of $58 (or $52 online) rise to $123 (or $117). Australians, diplomats and some Pacific Island nationals do not pay the IVL and nor do residents.
INZ's website gives 'from NZD $211' as the current cost of a visitor visa, a figure which does not include the current $35 IVL. From October, it will cost $441, including the fee rise and $100 IVL.
Student visa fees will increase to $750 up from $375 and Koetsier said some students will be surprised to be classed as visitors, with an extra $100 price tag.
"New Zealand's reputation as an international study destination is highly lucrative for the country and its schools and universities. However, this reputation could be damaged if INZ has spent the last two months advertising the new fee-paying student visa fee as $750, when including the IVL it may be $850."
Another anomaly he found was immigration instructions suggested Accredited Employer Work Visa applicants were not exempt from paying the IVL, although INZ had never charged them for it.
Others (more than 100,000 visitors and students last year, paying about $3.5 million in IVL fees) have their visa application rejected. The IVL component of the application is paid at the time of applying for the visa and is not refunded. With the increase to the levy, the revenue from tourists who cannot visit New Zealand will rise to $10 million if the same number are rejected this year.
"The IVL is payable upon application and, like the application fees, is non-refundable which has always been the case," said INZ director of policy integration Nick Aldous. "There are significant administrative costs associated with establishing refund mechanisms that would impose increased costs on other users of the immigration system.
"Accredited Employer Work Visa applicants are exempt from paying the IVL as their primary purpose for coming here is to live and work in New Zealand long-term, not to travel. The only work visa applicants charged the IVL are those applying for a working holiday or a student work visa."
Aldous said there had been no change to who pays the IVL or how it was collected, and the website had been updated to include information about the IVL cost increase.
"In response to feedback that the information was not clear enough, we have amended this information to make it clearer that from 1 October the IVL is increasing to $100, alongside changes to most visa charges that also come into effect that day.
"We are unable to update the visa fee and levy and IVL information in our Fee Finder tool until the changes come into effect on 1 October, as they need to reflect the current prices. However, we have added a note to make people aware that while they can currently use the Fee Finder tool to see a clear breakdown of what they are required to pay, including the IVL if applicable, and that the visa charges and IVL amount are changing from 1 October."
Stanford and Doocey both said in written statements that MBIE's advice after consultation was that was the increased cost of the IVL would not likely have a significant impact on student numbers.
Doocey said most fee-paying international students pay the IVL, but dependants or partners of NZ citizens or residents or temporary visa holders, where they are entitled to domestic student status, do not.
Stanford said the announcements on visa fee rises and the IVL increase were made separately as Cabinet made policy decisions at different times.
"We wanted to give as much notice as possible the change was being implemented given the number of visas affected," she said. "I am advised there is clear information on the Immigration NZ website about eligibility criteria for visas, and who is required to pay the IVL. Where applicants are required to pay the IVL, this is included in the price of the visa displayed on the website."