About Ava
I know what it feels like to be on the other side of an immigration decision.
Kia ora, I'm Ava Sanchez-Neal. Colombian-born, New Zealander by choice, and a New Zealand Licensed Immigration Adviser (licence 200900809), based in Palmerston North. I advise in English and Spanish.
Whether you're planning a move or Immigration New Zealand (INZ) is asking for something you can't make sense of, you don't have to work it out alone.
The day I stood at the counter
I came to New Zealand from Colombia with my Kiwi husband.
While my own residence application was waiting, I was nine months pregnant with our first child, who turned out to weigh 12 pounds (about 5.4 kg).
On my due date, in the scorching summer heat, I went to the Immigration office to ask what was happening.
The officer told me they had "doubts" about whether our relationship was genuine. The documents I had spent weeks gathering weren't enough.
Back then, utility bills, bank accounts and rental records didn't work in Colombia the way they do in New Zealand. Nobody seemed to understand that.
Nobody asked me how things worked at home or told me what would be enough.
I was already working as an immigration adviser, and I still couldn't work out what they wanted from me.
I left feeling embarrassed and hopeless.
So I wrote a letter explaining our day-to-day life in Colombia, and why we couldn't have joint bank accounts or utility bills in our names.
My residence was granted nine days after my baby was born.
The passport with the residence stamp arrived by courier. It was a really happy day, even on very little sleep.
What it taught me
If a process could leave me lost when I did this work for a living, it can leave anyone lost.
What hurt most was never being told what would be enough.
How it shapes the way I work
That day changed how I practise.
When INZ asks you for something, I explain what I think they're really asking for, and why.
I ask about your life, including how things work in the country you come from, so your evidence makes sense to the person reading it.
And I tell you plainly what I think will best show your situation, and where I see a gap.
Many of the people I help come from countries where much of life runs on cash, so income, savings and work history don't leave the paper trail INZ expects. I help them show where their funds and experience really come from, and work out what to get from home that INZ is likely to need.
I treat every case as a system.
I work back from what the evidence needs to show, I can audit a declined application to work out where it most likely went wrong, and I work through large amounts of information methodically. I apply the same discipline to keeping your files secure.
VisaPlex is my practice, and I work on every case myself.
How VisaPlex keeps your case fast, friendly and affordableMy experience and qualifications
I've been advising on New Zealand immigration for more than twenty years. These days much of my work is complex cases, especially student, partnership and deportation matters.
The detail is below. If you only read one line, make it the licence. You can check it yourself in the next section.
- Licence
- New Zealand Licensed Immigration Adviser, licence 200900809 (Immigration Advisers Authority)
- Dispute resolution
- former New Zealand Tenancy Mediator; Graduate Diploma in Management (Alternative Dispute Resolution), Massey University, including a residential practicum in negotiation, mediation, arbitration and advocacy
- Legal background
- New Zealand Law Society Legal Executive Diploma
- Currently studying
- New Zealand Financial Services, investment specialisation, with Future Skills (expected March 2027). I'm studying it to understand the investment side of investor visa applications better. I don't give financial or investment advice. It's also personal: I believe in building generational wealth for my own family.
- Quality and management systems
- Exemplar Global certified Auditor and Lead Auditor, Integrated Management Systems. My training covered quality (ISO 9001), environmental (ISO 14001), occupational health and safety (ISO 45001) and information security (ISO/IEC 27001) management systems.
- Languages
- English and Spanish
- Memberships
- NZ Employment Law Institute; International Association of Privacy Professionals (IAPP)
- Former governance
- Director, NZ Association for Migration and Investment (NZAMI); Director, Latin American NZ Business Council; member, Immigration Advisers Authority Reference Group; Trustee, Graduate Women NZ Manawatū
Check my licence
You don't have to take my word for the part that matters most. You can check my licence on the official public register.
Licence number200900809
Check my licence on the register (opens in a new tab)If the page asks you to search, choose Public register and enter licence number 200900809.
The register lists me under my legal name, Paola Miroslava Sanchez (Ava). Sanchez-Neal is my married name.
Let's talk
Tell me what's happening, in your own words. You don't need to know which visa you need.
Your first contact is free, and it isn't an assessment.
I'll ask a few questions to work out whether I can help, and I aim to reply within two working days. If I can help, I'll explain the next steps and how I'd work with you.
If we decide to go ahead, I'll give you a written agreement before any licensed advice or work begins.
The Licensed Immigration Advisers Code of Conduct (opens in a new tab) requires it, and it's how I like to work anyway.
The agreement protects you.
It sets out exactly what I'll do for you, my fees, the likely costs (including INZ fees), how payment and refunds work, and how to make a complaint, including to the Immigration Advisers Authority, if something goes wrong. I'll explain it before you accept it. If the work or the fees need to change later, that has to be agreed in writing too. You'll know what you're paying for before you pay.
INZ makes the decision on visa applications, so I can't guarantee an outcome. I'll work with you to anticipate the pitfalls, plan for them and, where there's a realistic fallback, have it ready.
If you have a letter from INZ with a deadline, sending me an enquiry doesn't pause that deadline. Tell me the date when you get in touch.