In the world of Immigration Law, there's never a dull moment. But our Annual Conference has you covered. Explore the latest on New Zealand's work visa system, partner visas, character waivers for supporting partners, navigating Family Court matters, the Active Investor Plus Category updates, deportation processes, and the latest Court developments. Gain valuable insights on the immigration system's experience over the past 12 months, highlighting recent trends and future outlooks. 

Presenters

Mr. Bradley So, Senior Associate, Queen City Law
Bradley So is a Senior Associate at Queen City Law and he manages the immigration team. He specialises in business migration and foreign investments. He has represented significant employers and ultra-high net worth individuals. His clients have invested in excess of $500 million in New Zealand and he has assisted multinationals with their immigration requirements.


Ms. Dilki Rajapakse, Barrister,
“Born and raised in Sri Lanka, Dilki Rajapakse, completed her LLB degree at the University of Colombo and was admitted to the Sri Lanka Bar in 1988. Dilki emigrated to NZ in 1989. She was employed as a manager for Workbridge, an employment agency which specialised in assisting people with disabilities to join the workforce. In 2001 Dilki joint Valant Hooker & Partners as a solicitor. In 2008, Dilki ventured out and started her own successful practice in South Auckland specialising in Family Law and Immigration Law.”


Mr Simon Graham, Partner, Young Hunter Lawyers
Simon is a litigation partner at Young Hunter Lawyers. He is responsible for leading the firm’s immigration and human rights team. As part of his role, he regularly appears before specialist Tribunals, and the Courts. Simon specialises in providing advice and representation with respect to all aspects of immigration litigation. This includes deportation appeals, refugee and protected status appeals, residence appeals, judicial reviews and High Court appeals, and criminal matters (including immigration fraud) which have the potential to affect a person’s immigration status. He is a member of the New Zealand Immigration and Refugee Law Committee of the New Zealand Law Society.


Mr Shi Sheng Cai, Senior Associate,
Shi Sheng Cai (Shoosh) is a Senior Associate at Copeland Ashcroft 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.


Ms. Pooja Sundar, Partner,
Pooja is an enthusiastic and friendly lawyer who enjoys getting to know her clients and advocating them. Pooja holds a Master of Law (Honours) and a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Auckland. She is a legal aid registered lawyer, with experience in advising in all aspects of immigration law, including visas, residence appeals, and refugee and protection claims. Pooja has significant experience in the Family Court. Pooja’s passion for legal representation is coupled with a deep interest in human rights legislature, international criminal law, and refugee case law. She has successfully been involved in many cases involving complex issues across domestic and international spheres. Pooja also advocates for victims of domestic violence in the immigration and family law fields.


Mr. Austin Lange, Senior Solicitor, Young Hunter Lawyers
Austin is an 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.


Mr. Harris Gu, Solicitor, Queen City Law
Prior to joining Queen City Law, Harris used to work for a former Minister of Immigration as a licensed immigration adviser for 7 years. Harris has extensive experience in dealing with all types of visa applications, as well as appeals to the Immigration & Protection Tribunal (IPT), Section 61 requests, Ministerial special directions & Ombudsman complaints. Harris obtained his LLB and BCom degrees from the University of Auckland and was admitted to the High Court of New Zealand in October 2021. Harris is pleased to have joined Queen City Law’s large award winning Immigration Law team. Harris speaks fluent Mandarin. Harris currently serves on the Auckland District Law Society (“ADLS”) Immigration & Refugee Law Committee.


Ms. Lauren Qiu, Principal,
Lauren is the Principal at Stay Legal. She has presented at national seminars and conferences on immigration law. She is a guest lecturer, teaching aspiring immigration advisers at Toi Ohomai Institute of Technology. Lauren is also an immigration law commentary Author for Thomson Reuters. Lauren is currently a Committee Member of The Law Association’s (formerly Auckland District Law Society) Immigration & Refugee Law Committee, a Member of the Tauranga Migrant Settlement Network (an Immigration New Zealand led Welcoming Communities initiative), and a Volunteer Immigration Solicitor at the Citizens Advice Bureau (Tauranga).


Mr. Simon Laurent, Principal, Laurent Law
Since starting practice representing refugees in the mid-1990s, Simon Laurent has developed a strong reputation as a leader in the Immigration field. He has chaired and presented seminars for both lawyers and immigration advisers, and has been called upon to provide industry comment for the media. For several years Simon sat on the Council of the Auckland District Law Society. He was a founding member of the Society's Immigration and Refugee Committee and has been a past Convenor. From 2010 to 2012 he was Chairman of the New Zealand Association of Migration and Investment and is a current Director of NZAMI. Laurent Law accepts instructions to solve complex immigration situations, including referrals from other lawyers and advisers.


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.