Section 61 Request NZ: What to Include, Fees and Work Visas

If your visa has expired and you are still in New Zealand, your situation is serious but not necessarily without options. Section 61 of the Immigration Act 2009 provides a narrow mechanism for people unlawfully in New Zealand to request that a visa be granted in their specific circumstances. It is not an appeal, and it is not an application in the ordinary sense. It is a request assessed at the absolute discretion of a senior immigration officer, with no obligation on INZ to consider it, no entitlement to reasons, and no right to appeal the outcome.

A brief note on terminology: Section 61 is sometimes loosely called a “special direction,” but that phrase technically refers to a different mechanism under the Immigration Act (section 378). This page covers Section 61 requests only. If a special direction is relevant to your situation, see our resource on immigration special directions.

What Section 61 actually is

Section 61 of the Immigration Act 2009 gives the Minister of Immigration (and by delegation, senior immigration officers at the Manukau Office) the power to grant a visa of any type to a person who is unlawfully in New Zealand and otherwise liable for deportation, as long as no deportation order has yet been issued against them.

The critical word is “discretion.” INZ’s own published guidance confirms that, under the law, the deciding officer:

• has no obligation to consider your request at all
• does not have to provide any reasons for the decision
• does not have to make enquiries about the information you provide
• is not required to grant the visa type or length you asked for
• does not have to grant a visa even if you appear to meet a standard visa category’s criteria

This is not a pathway with published approval criteria you can satisfy and then expect a visa. It is a request, and the decision sits entirely with INZ. Anyone telling you otherwise is not describing the law accurately.

Who can make a Section 61 request

You may be in a position to make a Section 61 request if:

• your visa has expired and you are currently in New Zealand unlawfully
• no deportation order has been issued against you yet
• no standard visa category is readily available to you (if it is, INZ expects you to use that route)

Section 61 is not open to you once a deportation order has been served. That is the point of no return for this pathway. See deportation defence options if a deportation order has already been issued.

If your visa is still valid, Section 61 does not apply. The correct conversation in that case is about extending your stay or applying under a standard category before your visa expires.

Why timing matters so much

Every day you remain unlawfully in New Zealand changes your position.

INZ’s published policy confirms that staying unlawfully for 42 days or more carries a risk of being future-banned from returning to New Zealand. Voluntary departure before a deportation order is served preserves your ability to apply for future New Zealand visas. Being deported may negatively affect that ability permanently.

Making a Section 61 request does not automatically stop deportation. INZ can continue to serve a deportation order and take removal action while your request is being assessed. The request and the deportation process run in parallel, not in sequence.

There is no statutory deadline for lodging a Section 61 request, but the practical window closes the moment a deportation order is issued. Early advice from a licensed immigration adviser gives you the most time to prepare a thorough request and to understand your options clearly, including whether voluntary departure might be the wiser course.

What should a Section 61 request contain?

INZ expects a Section 61 request in writing by email to s61@mbie.govt.nz. There is no INZ form and no official template, which is exactly why so many people go looking for a sample letter. Be careful with what you find: a generic template written for someone else’s circumstances is the fastest way to produce a request that reads as if the facts do not matter, and there is no second draft. The structure below is what INZ needs to see. The content has to be yours.

A complete request works through these in order:

1. Who you are and your current status. Full name, date of birth, client number if you have one, passport details, the date your last visa expired, and a plain statement that you are unlawfully in New Zealand and making a request under section 61.
2. What you are asking for. The visa type and the length you are requesting, stated explicitly. INZ is not obliged to grant the type or length you ask for, but a request that never says what it wants gives the officer nothing to grant.
3. How you became unlawful. An honest, dated account. Illness, a declined application, an adviser or employer who let a deadline pass, a family emergency. Do not minimise it and do not blame someone else if the record shows otherwise, because credibility is the one asset a discretionary request has.
4. Why you did not leave and apply from offshore. This is the question the officer is really weighing, and requests routinely skip it.
5. Your personal circumstances. Family ties in New Zealand, particularly any New Zealand citizen or resident children or partner, medical circumstances, employment, study, and community connection. Say what would happen to each of those if you had to leave.
6. Evidence for every claim. Birth and marriage certificates, medical reports, employment letters, tenancy records, school enrolments, bank statements. An unevidenced assertion carries close to no weight, because the officer is under no obligation to make enquiries about anything you say.
7. What you are prepared to do. Whether you intend to depart if the request is declined, and any steps you have already taken to resolve your status.

The standard is not whether your circumstances are sympathetic; it is whether, on the facts presented, the exercise of discretion is warranted. There is no hearing, no interview, and no opportunity to correct the record once the request is lodged.

Can you get a work visa under Section 61?

Yes, in principle. Section 61 allows a senior immigration officer to grant a visa of any type, so a work visa granted under section 61 is possible, and in practice it is one of the more common outcomes when a request succeeds. That said, three things temper it.

The officer is not required to grant the type or length you asked for, so a request for a two-year work visa may result in a short visitor visa instead, or in nothing at all. A visa granted under section 61 is often deliberately short, giving you time to put a proper application together rather than resolving your situation permanently. And if a standard work visa category is readily available to you, INZ expects you to use that route rather than section 61.

If your goal is to keep working, say so explicitly in the request, name the employer, and evidence the job. A request that describes hardship without ever asking for the visa that would fix it is a weaker request.

What happens if a Section 61 request is declined?

There is no right of appeal against a section 61 decision, and INZ does not have to give reasons. You will usually be told the request was unsuccessful and little more.

Once declined, you remain unlawfully in New Zealand and liable for deportation, so the position gets more urgent, not less. Realistically there are three paths: depart voluntarily before a deportation order is served, which preserves your ability to apply for New Zealand visas in future; lodge a further request if something material has genuinely changed, which faces a higher threshold and will be scrutinised on exactly that point; or, if a deportation order has now been served, move to deportation defence options, because section 61 is closed to you from that moment.

Take advice before doing any of the three. The choice between departing voluntarily and pushing further has consequences that last well beyond this visa.

How a licensed adviser can help

Given the discretionary nature of Section 61 and the one-shot character of most requests, preparation matters. A licensed immigration adviser can help you assess whether Section 61 is genuinely the right pathway, identify the most relevant circumstances and evidence, and prepare a well-structured request that covers the material INZ will look for, while avoiding framing that could undermine your credibility on this or any future matter.

ProVisas has handled Section 61 requests across a range of circumstances. Our engagement covers preparation and submission; the discretionary decision is INZ’s alone. No adviser can promise an outcome from a process where INZ has no obligation to decide in your favour.

If you have previously had a Section 61 request declined, a follow-up faces a higher threshold. INZ will scrutinise what has genuinely changed since the prior decline. Take advice before lodging a further request.

Next step

Section 61 is time-sensitive. If you are already unlawfully in New Zealand, the right time to act is now, not after another week has passed.

Book a 15-minute consultation with one of our licensed advisers to discuss your situation, or check your eligibility to get a clearer picture of where you stand before your appointment. If you want to understand how Section 61 relates to other discretionary mechanisms available under immigration law, our resource on visa declined options covers the broader landscape.