Approved Without Anyone Looking: Simple Lessons From New Zealand's ADEPT Visa Glitches

News · 2026-09-30 · 4 min read

Many of us imagine that once we lodge a visa application, an officer sits down and reads every page. A recent story from New Zealand shows that this does not always happen. On 30 September 2026, RNZ reported on briefings to Immigration Minister Erica Stanford, and these revealed that faults in Immigration New Zealand's ADEPT online platform had approved some applications with no manual assessment at all.

Whether you are applying from the Philippines, from your current job in the Middle East, or from anywhere else, here is a plain explanation of what went wrong and what you can learn from it.

How the fault slipped through

The system involved is ADEPT, the online platform Immigration New Zealand has used to process visas since 2022. Officials discovered a technical fault that occasionally allowed one automated process to run on the same application more than once. This created duplicated actions and meant the stage where an officer should review the file was skipped.

A follow-up review uncovered:

32 visitor visas granted with no manual assessment across roughly three years
23 Job Check applications granted with no manual assessment in 2022. A Job Check is the step where an accredited employer proves it first tried to hire a New Zealander.

The minister was told that technical advisors have now gone through all of those visitor visas. Twenty of the holders had already travelled to New Zealand, with no adverse outcome noted. Six files were reopened for a full assessment because of risk factors, and one was recommended for decline.

Other bumps along the way

A missed health question: In 2025, 364 people applying for multiple entry visitor visas for parents and grandparents were never asked a tuberculosis-related residency question, and 295 of them received visas. Officials described the individual risk as relatively low and said those affected would be contacted.
Employer dashboard trouble: Around 2,300 businesses whose accreditation had lapsed and then been renewed could no longer see their migrant workers in the system. That made it harder for them to resend job tokens or report when a worker left.
Submission problems in August 2026: Following a system update, some visitor visa applicants could not submit their drafts after adding a second person. A permanent fix arrived within days, though how many people were affected remains unknown.

Why a human decision still matters

The Government had promised that automation would help with approvals, while any decision to decline would remain with staff. Immigration law does allow automated decision-making, but the agency had reportedly not used it yet. In 2025 it said it was still about two years away from having the data and testing to do it properly. In other words, these approvals were never part of a plan. The system did something nobody meant it to do.

There is a bigger issue in the background too. Ministers sent the $336 million Our Future Services programme back for a fresh business case after its expected savings were overstated by $134 million, and they want a report before April 2027.

What this means for you and your family

If you are applying for a visa: Nothing suggests genuine applications are in danger. The worry is about consistency and oversight, not people being refused unfairly. Even so, a quick approval does not prove your file got the careful review it deserved, and mistakes discovered later may lead to someone contacting you.

If you employ or sponsor workers: Compare your dashboard with your own list of who works for you and which job tokens have been issued. Do not assume the system matches reality, especially if your accreditation has lapsed and been renewed.

If you are still planning your move: Policies and systems keep changing in every destination country. Whatever the platform shows, hold on to your own copies of submissions, confirmations, medical results and correspondence.

A simple checklist before and after you click submit

Keep a copy of every page and confirmation you send.
Answer each health and character question completely, even when the system does not ask.
Reply promptly whenever you are asked for more information.
Look at your application status often instead of treating silence as good news.
Speak with a licensed migration professional if something seems unusual.

Final thoughts

Technology can make visa processing faster, but it still needs strong testing and human oversight. For you as an applicant, your best protection is an application that is carefully prepared, honest and properly documented, whichever country you are applying to. Take your time, keep your records in order, and rely on official sources when you are unsure.

Please treat this article as general information and not as immigration advice. Rules and processes can change, so look at official sources or talk to a licensed adviser before lodging your application.

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