If New Zealand is on your job search shortlist, there's a piece of news worth reading before you submit an application: Immigration New Zealand (INZ) is $90 million short in its visa accounts, and a new fee review is already booked for late 2026. Here's what's behind it, and what it could mean for your application costs.

1. The Shortfall Comes From a Failed Government IT Project

This isn't just a routine budget adjustment. A large chunk of the deficit traces back to the Biometric Capability Update (BCU), a project that ran from 2018 to November 2025 and was supposed to modernise how INZ processes biometric data. It was cancelled without ever going live, after costing at least $35–40 million.

2. The True Cost Keeps Rising, Even After Cancellation

INZ first wrote off $31.2 million for the scrapped project in the 2026 Budget. Then, in July 2026, officials admitted to an extra $6 million in costs nobody had previously accounted for — and couldn't say for certain that was the final figure. By early September 2026, reported losses had climbed to nearly $40 million, with no confirmation the number was final.

On top of that, INZ may owe its technology vendor, NEC, up to $12 million in a separate dispute, and could face penalty charges of up to $750,000 a month for missing a 2025 deadline. An independent inquiry is now looking into how the project was managed.

3. Reviews Warned It Was Failing — Officials Said Otherwise

According to an independent report, the project was launched in 2018 without proper planning and lacked oversight for years. As late as March 2024, an internal update described it as "on track." Nine days later, a separate quality review found it likely wouldn't work at all. Officials have since publicly admitted the project failed, with New Zealand's Finance Minister calling it "a disaster."

4. The New System Replacing It Is Already Struggling

The eight-year replacement programme, called Our Future Services, is only 18 months old and has already run into trouble. A review found its promised savings were based on assumptions that don't hold up, and the productivity improvements it promised haven't shown up yet — visa processing is running well below projected gains. Government auditors have flagged the programme as high risk.

5. Applicants and Employers Foot the Bill

Here's the part that affects your wallet directly. Since 2024, INZ has funded itself almost entirely through applicant fees and employer levies rather than general government funding — roughly 91 cents of every dollar it spends. That means when a deficit like this opens up, it doesn't get quietly absorbed by the government. It tends to show up as a fee increase for the people applying for visas.

This has happened before: in 2024, the skilled residence visa fee jumped from $4,290 to $6,450, and student visa fees doubled to $750. With a new review scheduled for late 2026, another increase is a real possibility.

What Should You Do About It?

If you're planning to apply for a New Zealand work, residence, or student visa, don't wait for the fee review to conclude before starting your paperwork. Getting your application in ahead of a rate change can save you a meaningful amount, especially for skilled residence and student visas, which saw the steepest jumps last time. If you're working with a sponsoring employer, it's worth raising the possibility of increased costs early, so there are no surprises for either side later in the process.