Immigration New Zealand customer satisfaction survey
Immigration New Zealand undertakes monthly surveys of visa applicants to help evaluate and improve its customer service.
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This report provides a summary of the key findings from the Immigration New Zealand (INZ) Customer Experience Survey conducted among visa applicants who lodged their own application; they did not go through an immigration adviser or lawyer. The survey monitors visa applicants’ experience with the entire application process.
The surveys are conducted by Gravitas Research and Strategy for the Migration Evidence and Insights team.
Survey methodology
The survey is conducted among a randomly selected sample of applicants who have received a decision on their application in the previous quarter.
It uses an online survey methodology and can be completed in English or Simplified Chinese. The response rate of approximately 30% results in completed responses from 3,000 applicants per quarter.
Weighting
Visa applicant data is weighted to reflect the distribution of applicants by visa type within an office.
For more information on this report, please contact: MBIE Research and Evaluation.
Summary of key survey findings 2018
The proportion of visa applicants satisfied with the overall quality of service received is an Estimates measure for the 2018/19 year. The target for this measure is set at 80% for satisfaction with the overall experience of applying for a visa.
The overall experience was positive for most clients
Satisfaction with the overall experience of applying for a visa has been consistently high. It has been trending upwards since October 2016. The 2017-2018 result was significantly higher than the year before (81% vs. 80%).
Figure 1: Satisfaction with the overall experience of applying for a visa (total % satisfied)
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Satisfaction with the Overall Experience of applying for a visa All Applicants |
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|
Oct-Dec 2016 |
Jan-Mar 2017 |
Apr-Jun 2017 |
Jul-Sep 2017 |
Oct-Dec 2017 |
Jan-Mar 2018 |
Apr-Jun 2018 |
Jul-Sep 2018 |
|
|
All visa applicants |
79% |
80% |
81% |
82% |
81% |
81% |
80% |
84% |
Service provided by INZ office staff and Immigration Contact Centre (ICC) staff was rated highly
Applicants who called the ICC or had contact with INZ office staff were pleased with how they were treated by staff - they felt that staff were respectful, helpful, and knew what they were doing.
The slightly lower results on ICC staff knowledge (i.e. staff knew what they were doing) may have been influenced to some extent by lack of consistency in information provided as well as the difficulty of accessing information on the status of the application.
Figure 2: Interaction with staff (total % agree)
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Interaction with staff |
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|
INZ Offices |
Immigration Contact Centre |
|
|
Staff treated me with respect |
85% |
85% |
|
Staff were helpful |
80% |
80% |
|
Staff knew what they were doing |
81% |
77% |
The ability to get help with the application process varied between channels
Visa applicants now find it easier to get advice and guidance from the website and application forms, compared to staff at INZ offices, the ICC and the Visa Application Centres (VAC).
Performance of the website has improved significantly since the previous quarter and over the last two years.
Figure 3: Ease of getting advice and guidance (total % agree)
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Ease of getting advice and guidance |
|
|
Immigration Contact Centre staff |
73% |
|
Visa Application Centre staff |
75% |
|
INZ Office staff |
|
|
Paper application form |
82% |
|
Immigration Online application form |
84% |
|
Online Services application form |
86% |
|
INZ Website |
|
 Significantly higher than earlier quarter |
|
Some aspects of providing information continue to be challenging, but there has been an upward trend over the last two years
Most applicants now state that it is easy to understand what they needed to do when submitting an application.
They are also more likely (compared to earlier) to agree that they understood how long the decision would take. This could be due to recent changes and improvements made to the INZ website.
Figure 4: Access to information (total % agree)
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Access to information |
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|
Oct-Dec 2016 |
Jan-Mar 2017 |
Apr-Jun 2017 |
Jul-Sep 2017 |
Oct-Dec 2017 |
Jan-Mar 2018 |
Apr-Jun 2018 |
Jul-Sep 2018 |
|
|
Easy to understand what I needed to do |
81% |
81% |
81% |
83% |
84% |
83% |
83% |
|
|
Understood how long the decision would take |
73% |
74% |
73% |
|
77% |
76% |
78% |
79% |
|
Received consistent information/advice |
69% |
70% |
70% |
72% |
72% |
72% |
72% |
74% |
|
Able to find out status of application |
60% |
61% |
62% |
63% |
61% |
62% |
64% |
62% |
|
|
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Applying online was a positive experience and almost all online applicants would do so again
Users of Immigration Online and Online Services continued to be satisfied with their experience of using the online form.
They found it easy to complete the application form (87%) and upload documents (82% - 83%). Almost all online applicants (95%) would use the online application process again.
Paper applicants were significantly less satisfied with their experience of using the application form, compared to online applicants.
Paper applicants’ awareness of applying online (55% in the last quarter) has not changed substantially over the last two years. They were still significantly less likely (72%) to complete future applications online. The main reasons given were:
- Easy/convenient to apply online and more efficient than the online system, and
- Inability to pay with a credit card.
Suggestions for improvement
The main suggestions continue to relate to:
- Clarity of process: providing better explanation and assistance to help customers fully understand application requirements and the application process.
- Communication: providing regular progress updates throughout the application process.
- Timeliness: faster processing of applications.