Immigration Minister Iain Lees-Galloway says work is underway to update the Government's systems, but it will take a while.
He told Morning Report work is underway to move the system to a less paper-based one and automate some processing.
It comes as the government grants itself sweeping powers to manage visas in a bill that was introduced to parliament this week.
Lees-Galloway says the amendments will mean they can be more flexible and responsive to the challenges posed by Covid-19.
One of the challenges is to quickly manage visa changes for large numbers of migrants who are unable to leave New Zealand due to the pandemic.
The changes will also stop people making visa applications from overseas while border restrictions are in place, and provide a means to refuse entry to people who are deemed to hold a visa.
