- Hon Erica Stanford
The Government is proposing to strengthen deportation settings and immigration compliance to help grow integrity and trust in New Zealand's immigration system.
"We know most people comply with their visa conditions and New Zealand laws while they are here. For those who do not, it's important we have the right tools in place. We are proposing changes to the Immigration Act to ensure the immigration system is more robust and responsive so it can act more decisively when serious breaches occur," Immigration Minister Erica Stanford says.
The Immigration (Enhanced Risk Management) Amendment Bill will strengthen the tools available to respond to serious immigration breaches. The changes will clarify and tighten the rules around deportation liability, including:
- Expanding deportation liability for up to 20 years to cover residence class visa holders who commit serious criminal offences.
- Ensuring the provision of false or misleading information can trigger deportation liability.
- Clarifying that historic crimes, including those committed before arriving in New Zealand, can lead to deportation liability.
- Expanding the definition of when a visa is considered to have been granted in error. This means people who were granted a visa by mistake will no longer benefit from it and may be liable for deportation.
- Enabling deportation liability notices to be issued electronically if a physical address cannot be located.
- Expanding the ability for immigration officers to request identity-based information from an individual when there is good cause to suspect they may be in breach of their visa conditions or potentially liable for deportation. This will mean quicker identification of people who are non-compliant.
"These changes address gaps in the current compliance framework. For example, current rules mean that people who have committed serious crimes cannot be liable for deportation if they have held a residence class visa for more than 10 years. We're fixing that.
"Where migrants don't follow the conditions of their visa, I've made it clear to Immigration NZ compliance and enforcement actions are a priority. In the last financial year, 1,259 unlawful people were deported by INZ, self-deported or voluntarily departed New Zealand, an increase of 352 from the previous financial year.
The Bill will also increase the penalties for migrant exploitation, increasing the maximum penalty for migrant exploitation from seven to 10 years' imprisonment.
"Migrant exploitation is unacceptable and will not be tolerated. This change recognises the seriousness of this crime and builds on a suite of changes made by this Government to reduce the opportunity for exploitation and stamp it out when it occurs," Ms Stanford says.
Further details on the Bill will be released later this year.
