The rules are changing, but more importantly, how they are being applied in practice is often unclear. With the rollout of the Immigration Amendment Act 2025, ongoing changes to the Skilled Migrant Category, Accredited Employer Work Visa, Deportation Liability and a noticeable rise in compliance scrutiny, practitioners are having to make judgment calls without always having certainty. You are likely already seeing more refusals based on small technical issues, greater focus on character concerns and situations where clients unexpectedly face deportation risks. At the same time, clients still expect clear answers and reliable outcomes. Learn how it is playing out and approach complex cases with confidence.  

Presenters

Deborah Manning, Barrister, Landmark Chambers
Deborah Manning is a barrister at Landmark Chambers and a Law Honours graduate of the University of Auckland (BA/LLB Hons). Since her admission to the Bar in 1999, she has specialised in refugee and immigration law, with particular interest in how these areas intersect with related fields. She is a Senior Lecturer at AUT Law School, teaching in immigration, refugee law, and professional practice. Deborah holds a Postgraduate Certificate in Professional Supervision (PGCertPro) and has served for many years on the TLANZ Immigration and Refugee Committee. She currently chairs the Immigration Reference Group, a key stakeholder forum working with MBIE. She is also the founder of The Good Practice Company, a consultancy focused on supervision, professional practice, and systems-level wellbeing in high-pressure legal environments and is a certified AI Ethicist through University of Oxford – Saïd Business School (March 2026)

Sonny Lam, Consultant, Queen City Law
Sonny is a former Immigration New Zealand Officer. He was admitted as a Barrister and Solicitor of the High Court of New Zealand in 2007, practicing in the area of employment and family law for around 7 years before joining Immigration New Zealand. He has a balanced understanding of the New Zealand Immigration system having served with INZ in multiple officer roles before being called back to private practice as a lawyer in 2015. Sonny’s focus is on helping families. He has personally taken part in assisting thousands of people obtain residency, whether as an Immigration officer or as an Immigration lawyer. He has particular expertise in the SMC Skilled Migrant Category Residence applications, particularly in Immigration Appeals to the IPT on residency decline decisions. His family law background and his former experience as an Immigration Officer in the partnership assessment teams will give you the edge in preparing for a partnership application. Due to the unique mixture of his background, Sonny is also highly in demand in providing Employment and Immigration business advisory advice for companies hiring migrant workers, including applying for the legalisation of overstayer workers which is known as a s61 application. He has acted on Immigration/ Employment matters for various international companies for their New Zealand business interests, including collective bargaining with migrant workers.

Austin Lange, Senior Associate, Young Hunter Lawyer
Austin is a Senior Associate in Young Hunter’s litigation and disputes resolution team. He advises and presents on all areas of immigration litigation, with a focus on refugee, deportation, and criminal matters. Austin regularly appears for clients in the Tribunal, District Court, and High Court. Recently, he was invited to consult on a Supreme Court case relating to the immigration consequences of criminal convictions. Austin is also involved with Community Law Canterbury and the Citizens Advice Bureau’s Christchurch immigration clinic as a volunteer lawyer.

Jack Cheng, Barrister, Mills Lane Chamber
Jack is a highly experienced and respected immigration lawyer with a deep understanding of New Zealand immigration laws and policies. Well known for his ability to handle complex immigration matters, Jack has successfully assisted hundreds of immigration clients who faced significant character, health, investment or humanitarian issues. He is a member of the Law Association Immigration & Refugee Law Committee and speaks regularly at immigration seminars and conferences across New Zealand. Before joining MC, Jack litigated in several high-profile trials involving organised crime, the importation and supply of drugs, money laundering and murder. He is fluent in English and Mandarin, conversational in two other Chinese dialects and understands basic Japanese.


Shi Sheng Cai (Shoosh), Partner, Ashcroft, Mitchell, McGregor
Shi Sheng Cai (Shoosh) is a Partner at Ashcroft Mitchell McGregor and regularly acts for employers to help with immigration matters. He has over 7 years of work experience in the immigration sector including experience in the areas of global mobility, corporate immigration, investor migration and expertise with complex New Zealand immigration matters. Shoosh is a member of the Law Association Immigration Committee and is an author for Thomson Reuters Human Rights Law resource. You will find Shoosh "a great guy to deal with". He enjoys working with government officers and is a critical thinker with an insightful legal mind.


Marcus Beveridge, Managing Director, Queen City Law
Marcus Beveridge is the Managing Director of Queen City Law NZ Limited. His main areas of practice are construction and property law, commercial law, foreign investment, real estate services and immigration. Marcus has developed expertise in business-based immigration and has acted on literally 100's of successful business-based immigration applications over the best part of 3 decades. Many of these clients have subsequently become major clients of his firm. The total amount of business immigration funds invested in NZ in the last decade is close to NZ$10 Billion. Marcus is a regular commentator on immigration based issues on national Radio & TV and has presented and chaired many NZ Immigration Law conferences over the years. Marcus has also recently been on several Working Groups and Immigration Reference Groups liaising with senior INZ management about assorted immigration issues. His firm comprises one of NZ’s largest immigration law teams. Marcus was formerly Chairman of NZAMI and Convenor of the New Zealand Law Society Immigration Committee.

Lauren Qiu, Principal, Stay Legal
Lauren is the Principal at Stay Legal. She has presented at national seminars and conferences on immigration law. Lauren is currently the Convenor of The Law Association’s Immigration & Refugee Law Committee and a member of the Tauranga Migrant Settlement Network (an Immigration New Zealand-led Welcoming Communities initiative). Previously, she was a guest lecturer teaching aspiring immigration advisers at Toi Ohomai Institute of Technology, an immigration law commentary author for Thomson Reuters, and provided immigration advice pro bono at the Citizens Advice Bureau (Tauranga) for over 7.5 years.

Pooja Sundar, Partner, Dalley Sundar
Pooja Sundar is a leading immigration and family lawyer known for her expertise in complex matters involving migrants, refugees, and families navigating sensitive legal and immigration issues. She holds a Master of Laws (Honours) and a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Auckland and is a Legal Aid–registered practitioner. Her work spans all areas of immigration law - from visas and residence appeals to refugee and protection claims - alongside family proceedings where immigration and family-violence issues intersect. Pooja combines deep legal expertise with strong cultural intelligence and is frequently called on for high-stakes and precedent-setting matters. She has driven reform on family-violence visa processes and trauma-informed refugee interviews, while her pro bono work has enabled many migrants and survivors of family violence to secure safety and lawful status. A member of several professional and community bodies, Pooja is widely regarded as a leading voice in the evolution of New Zealand’s immigration system.

Claudia Hillman, Senior Solicitor, Young Hunter Lawyers