Immigration New Zealand’s visa software approved 32 visitor visas without an immigration officer ever assessing them.
It also approved 23 Job Checks, where an employer must show it tried to hire a New Zealander before a migrant. In March 2025, the agency said it was about two years away from letting software approve applications, but the system had already approved Job Checks on its own in 2022.
Twenty of the 32 visas have been used to travel to New Zealand. Six applications were reopened over high-risk factors, and one was recommended for decline.
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