New Zealand visa portal going offline on May 13: What applicants need to know

If you have a New Zealand visa application pending or are planning to submit one, mark the evening of May 13 on your calendar. Immigration New Zealand has announced a planned system upgrade that will take all its online visa application portals offline between 20:00 and 23:59 NZST on Wednesday, May 13, a four-hour window during which no applications can be accessed or submitted.

The downtime is part of a series of planned upgrades to New Zealand's online immigration infrastructure scheduled for 2026. While the window is relatively short, it covers a wide range of applications and services that prospective migrants, students, workers, and investors may be in the middle of completing.

Which applications will be affected?

The following services will be inaccessible during the upgrade window:

• NZeTA (New Zealand Electronic Travel Authority), including requests for changes and personal information requests
• Student enrolment termination form
• Active Investor Plus Visa application form
• Application for a job change or variation of conditions for work visa holders
• Application for a variation of conditions for student visa holders
• Parent Resident Visa Expression of Interest form
• Application for transfer or confirmation of a visa
• Report a breach form
• Skilled Migrant Category Resident Visa expressions of interest and applications
• Application for a variation of conditions for a Skilled Migrant Category Interim Visa
• Application for a transfer of a visa for Skilled Migrant Category Interim Visa holders

What you should do

If you have a time-sensitive application or need to access any of the above services, plan to do so well before 20:00 NZST on May 13. The systems are expected to be back online by midnight. Immigration New Zealand has not indicated any impact on applications already submitted or decisions already in progress.