A world-class digital front door to Aotearoa

Immigration New Zealand (INZ) is the government agency that looks after who comes into and leaves Aotearoa. They're here to make sure New Zealand remains a great place to live, work, and visit.

The INZ website—a vital component in managing the flow of people to and from Aotearoa—was operating on a significantly outdated system. An upgrade was needed in order to address limitations in new feature implementation and a lack of integration with the wider MBIE digital ecosystem. The project focused on four key goals: modernising technology, improving user experience, aligning with MBIE's centralized digital system, and reducing long-term costs.

Our work for Immigration New Zealand involved a significant overhaul: migrating the immigration.govt.nz website from an outdated system to Silverstripe CMS. This wasn't just a simple transfer; it encompassed:


• Upgrading the underlying technology: Moving to a flexible, future-proof Silverstripe foundation.

• Designing a more user-friendly interface: Creating a clearer, easier-to-use experience for users.
• Implementing new features: Adding functions like streamlined visa application forms and eligibility checkers.

• Ensuring seamless integration with the wider MBIE digital ecosystem: Making sure the INZ website worked smoothly with other MBIE platforms.

• Building the site for future scalability: Allowing for easy updates and growth.

We started with an in-depth discovery phase to understand INZ's specific requirements, challenges with the old site, and crucial user needs. This involved analysing the existing site's functionality, user feedback, and technical limitations to ensure a long-term solution.

Our comprehensive, end-to-end services covered everything from initial workshops, detailed wireframing, and both front-end and back-end development to dedicated testing and ongoing support. Throughout the process, close collaboration with INZ, MBIE, and relevant stakeholders was central to delivering a new website that met their needs and the high standards of a critical government service.

The project successfully delivered a modern Silverstripe CMS website for Immigration New Zealand (INZ), significantly improving access to visa information for travel to and from the country. We migrated them from their outdated system, prioritising usability, mobile optimisation, accessibility, clear content, and seamless integration with other MBIE websites. The new site features streamlined visa application forms, eligibility checkers, and simplified navigation.

INZ now benefits from a modern, scalable, and user-friendly digital platform, offering clearer, better-organised content. The integration of Silverstripe CMS has also reduced long-term maintenance costs and boosted system performance, simplifying future updates.

We achieved INZ's core goals: a modern technology stack, improved user experience, and alignment with the MBIE ecosystem. Our collaborative approach and effective project management were crucial to this success, with INZ valuing Silverstripe's flexibility and expertise in meeting all technical and functional requirements.

Our team provided a comprehensive suite of services to bring Immigration New Zealand's new website to life. Beyond the core migration to Silverstripe CMS, we focused on delivering specific features and approaches that enhanced the platform.

Intelligent search: We implemented Elastic Enterprise Search to create a smart way of showing relevant visas to users. This powerful search is integrated throughout the site, offering unique filtering options that make it much easier for people to find exactly what they're looking for.

Future-proofing content tools: We designed a solution that empowers the INZ team to build new list tools easily, without needing ongoing development work. This was a significant improvement from their previous site, giving them much more flexibility and control over their content.

Global fees and office finder: We developed a dedicated tool on the Immigration NZ website that allows users to quickly find associated fees and locate immigration offices around the world for submitting applications. This was built from the ground up, as clear requirements for this crucial function had been lost over time.

Content management and design was an area which saw large improvements.

User-journey focused content: We completely re-structured content around real user journeys. This ensured information was presented logically, aligning with how people actually seek visa details. We anticipated common questions, providing answers exactly when and where they were needed.

Streamlined navigation and clear content delivery: We stripped away complexity, introducing a simplified navigation structure that makes finding key information much easier. Content itself was refined for clarity, helping users quickly understand eligibility, processing times, and costs without getting bogged down.

Empowering content editors: The design didn't just consider the end-user; we also significantly uplifted the experience for the INZ team. We provided a more intuitive CMS interface with structured content blocks and easier workflows. This means content editors can now make updates quickly and efficiently, reducing their reliance on developers and putting content control back in their hands.

Alongside content improvements, there were significant design and UX improvements which collectively contribute to a far more intuitive, efficient, and welcoming digital experience for everyone interacting with Immigration New Zealand.

Enhanced accessibility: With accessibility at its core, the new design ensures the website is usable for the widest possible audience, regardless of their abilities or the devices they're using. This includes optimising the site for mobile devices, recognising that many users access information on the go.

Improved search functionality: Finding the right information is now faster and more intuitive than ever. Our design integrated the powerful Elastic Enterprise Search to provide more relevant results and unique filtering options, directly addressing a previous pain point for users.

Aotearoa's unique identity: The design thoughtfully incorporates Te reo Māori and Māori design elements throughout the site. This not only enhances the website's visual appeal but also authentically reflects New Zealand's unique cultural identity, providing a welcoming and culturally relevant experience.


• Workshops
• Discovery
• Wireframing
• UX & design
• Front-end and back-end development
• Dedicated testing resource
• Project management
• Solution Architect consultation
• Programme Management
• Account Management
• Managed cloud hosting
• 24/7 New Zealand-based support