They have been used by INZ, and a number of other countries around the world for many years. There are 40 offshore VACs providing visa support services to applicants across the globe.

A large proportion of our VACs are shared with New Zealand’s Migration Five partners - the United States, United Kingdom, Canada and Australia. Using VACs to undertake administrative tasks related to visa services allows INZ staff to focus more on managing risk and making decisions on visa applications. This in turn, improves services for customers and leads to quicker decisions on visas.

Our VAC network is operated by a specialist third-party provider, it is important to note, they cannot provide immigration advice and have no influence on the outcome of an application for a New Zealand visa, which can only be decided by an immigration officer. The VACs have been provided specific training regarding the services they perform on our (INZ’s) behalf, which includes an escalation process to INZ for those customers requiring immigration advice.