The government agency that makes decisions about visas and entry to New Zealand is Immigration New Zealand, which is a part of the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment. The Immigration NZ staff who make the decisions are called Immigration Officers, although some types of decisions have to be made by Immigration NZ managers. A few decisions are made by the Minister of Immigration personally.
Decisions about claims for refugee status are made by a separate part of Immigration NZ, called the Refugee Status Branch. The staff who make these decisions are called Refugee and Protection Officers. They can’t make decisions about visas and other immigration issues, in the same way that Immigration Officers can’t make decisions about refugee status and other refugee issues. For information about claiming refugee status, see the chapter “Refugees”.