Nobody should lose two years to information they could have had.

Why we exist

The information a new arrival needs is nearly all public. It is spread across a dozen government sites, written for officials, and rarely dated. So people fill the gap with forums, hearsay and whoever answers the phone first.

The result is not dramatic. It is slow. A graduate spends eight months applying into silence because nobody explained how hiring works here. A family signs a lease at the wrong price because they had nothing to compare it with. A couple pays thousands to someone who called themselves an adviser and was not licensed. None of these people did anything wrong. They just did not have the receipts.

Custailo's job is to show its working: one place, plain language, and an honest line drawn where information ends and advice begins. Figures that have been checked against a named source say so, either on the figure itself or in the source line beneath the table they appear in; the rest are labelled as estimates until they have been. Not because the line is convenient, but because on the other side of it you should be talking to a licensed human, and we would rather you knew that early.

Three rules. Show the source. Show the date we last checked it. If we cannot source it, it stays labelled as an estimate. It does not get published as a checked figure.

Public sources we draw on

What "checked" means

It means a person opened the source, confirmed the figure or the wording, and recorded the date. Most figures on this site have now been through that process, and each one that has carries its named source and check date on the figure itself. The few that have not are labelled as estimates. Where a source publishes a range, we show the range. Where two sources disagree, we show both and say so. Where a rule has changed and the source has not caught up, we say that too.

General information only. Everything published on Custailo is general in nature. It does not take account of your circumstances, your visa, your family, your finances or your goals. It is not a substitute for advice from a person who is licensed or qualified to give it and who knows your situation.

Immigration. Under New Zealand law, immigration advice may only be given by advisers licensed by the Immigration Advisers Authority or by people the law exempts, such as New Zealand lawyers. Custailo is neither. We do not assess eligibility, recommend visa categories, help complete applications, or comment on individual cases. Where we describe a visa, we describe it in general terms and link to Immigration New Zealand, whose published rules are the only current and authoritative source.

Financial, legal and tax. Nothing on Custailo is financial advice as defined by New Zealand's financial markets law, and we are not a licensed financial advice provider. Nothing here is legal or tax advice. Cost figures are published to help you compare and plan, not to tell you what to do with your money.

Health and insurance. Nothing on Custailo is medical advice, and nothing here recommends an insurance policy. Where we describe how health care or insurance works, we describe the general position only. Whether you are eligible for publicly funded care, and whether a policy meets the conditions on your visa or the requirements of your institution, are questions for the practice, the provider, your institution or Immigration New Zealand.

Accuracy and currency. We work hard to source and date every figure and to keep wording current. Rules, fees and prices change, sometimes without notice, and there can be a gap between a change and our update. Where our information and an official source disagree, the official source is correct. Figures without a named source and check date are estimates and are labelled as such.

Third parties. We link to external sites. We do not control them or endorse the people behind them, and we are not responsible for what they do or say.

Your responsibility. Please check anything important against the official source, and get licensed advice for decisions about your own case. If something here is wrong and you acted on it without checking, we cannot be responsible for what follows.