Visas Approved by Software Alone: Lessons From New Zealand's ADEPT Faults for Prospective Applicants

News · 2026-09-30 · 5 min read

Experienced professionals preparing a move to New Zealand, whether from Dubai, Doha or anywhere else, tend to assume an officer reads every visa file in detail. A recent episode shows that assumption does not always hold. Faults in Immigration New Zealand's ADEPT platform led to dozens of applications being approved with no person checking them. Below is a calm account of what occurred and the lessons for applicants, employers and anyone planning a migration.

The details emerged in briefings to Immigration Minister Erica Stanford, which RNZ reported on 30 September 2026. They show that software faults within the agency's online system approved certain applications without any manual assessment.

How the Duplicate-Process Fault Worked

ADEPT is the online visa processing system that Immigration New Zealand has operated since 2022. Officials discovered a technical fault that occasionally allowed one automated process to run several times on a single application. The result was duplicated actions, and in some cases the stage at which an officer should have assessed the file was bypassed entirely.

A subsequent review identified:

23 Job Check applications approved in 2022 without manual assessment. The Job Check is the step in which an accredited employer demonstrates that it first tried to recruit a New Zealander.
32 visitor visas approved without manual assessment across a period of about three years.

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

A Pattern of Wider System Issues

Several other reported problems indicate the platform has had a difficult run:

A missed health question: in 2025, 364 applicants for multiple entry visitor visas for parents and grandparents were never asked a residency question linked to tuberculosis, and 295 of them received visas. Officials described the individual risk as relatively low and said those affected would be contacted.
Employer dashboards showing gaps: about 2,300 businesses whose accreditation had lapsed and then been renewed could no longer see their migrant workers in the system, limiting their ability to resend job tokens or report that a worker had left.
A submission problem in August 2026: following a system update, some visitor visa applicants were unable to submit drafts after adding a second person. A permanent fix arrived within days, though how many people were affected remains unknown.

Automation That Was Meant to Stay in Reserve

The Government had indicated that automation would assist with approving applications, while any decision to decline would remain with staff. Immigration law permits automated decision-making, yet the agency had reportedly not begun using it. In 2025 it said it was still roughly two years away from having the data and testing required to do so properly. These approvals, then, were not a deliberate rollout. The system simply acted in a way no one had planned.

There is also a broader concern. Ministers returned the $336 million Our Future Services programme for a fresh business case after its forecast savings were found to be overstated by $134 million, and they have asked for a report before April 2027.

Reading the Episode From Your Position

Applicants: nothing here indicates that genuine applications are in danger. The issue is oversight and consistency rather than people being refused in error. Even so, a quick approval does not prove a file received the scrutiny it should have, and mistakes uncovered later may prompt follow-up contact.

Employers and sponsors: compare your dashboard with your own records of staff and of the job tokens issued. Do not take the system's view as accurate, particularly if your accreditation has lapsed and been renewed.

Those planning a migration: systems and policy keep shifting in every destination country. Regardless of what a platform displays, retain your own copies of submissions, confirmations, medical results and correspondence.

Five Sound Habits When You Apply Online

Keep a saved copy of each page and confirmation you submit.
Give full answers to every health and character question, even when the system does not prompt for them.
Reply promptly to any request for further information.
Review your application status regularly instead of treating silence as a good sign.
Seek advice from a licensed migration professional if anything seems unusual.

A Considered Conclusion

Technology can make visa processing faster, but only with rigorous testing and human oversight behind it. Whichever country you apply to, your strongest safeguard is an application that is honest, carefully prepared and thoroughly documented.

For professionals in the Gulf weighing New Zealand jobs from Dubai or elsewhere, that discipline matters as much as the job offer itself.

This article provides general information only and is not immigration advice. Rules and processes change, so consult official sources or a licensed adviser before you apply.

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