Shane Jones is defending Immigration New Zealand (INZ) after it instructed officials to stop granting visas as an exception to instructions, which had become "standard practice".

The New Zealand First MP said he is "worked up" over the "elevated sense of entitlement from a lot of immigrant leaders", after some in New Zealand's Indian community spoke out against the tightening of the rules.

INZ's Peter Elms said officials must now "ensure immigration instructions are adhered to, unless there are circumstances in the particular case that warrants a waiver or exception to instructions".

The directive has led members of the Indian community in New Zealand to speak out, saying the current partnership visa rules disadvantage those who come from cultures that practice arranged marriages.

The New Zealand Association for Migration and Investment is concerned about the rules requiring people to live together for a significant period of time before a spouse can be brought to New Zealand under the visa.

You must be able to show us that you're living together in a genuine and stable relationship before INZ can grant a visa based on partnership, the rules state.

But that doesn't work for people who don't live together before marriage, which is often the case with arranged marriages where it's tradition for the couple to live together only once they're married.