Deportation approach

Immigration New Zealand (INZ) serves Deportation Liability Notices and Deportation Orders, where appropriate, to people who may be liable for deportation because of criminal activity or other public interest factors or being unlawfully in New Zealand.

Most people depart voluntarily when we contact them. A voluntary departure does not preclude people returning to New Zealand if they are able to obtain the necessary visa, but this will depend on the individual circumstances.

If people unlawfully in New Zealand choose not to cooperate and disengage from us, then they risk being deported in much the same way as higher priority deportations and face a prohibition of up to 5 years on returning to New Zealand as well as having to repay any costs associated with their deportation.

In other cases where people are not unlawfully in New Zealand but are deported, they may face a prohibition of up to 5 years and in some cases a permanent prohibition on returning to New Zealand, as well as having to repay any costs associated with their deportation.

INZ does not interact with New Zealand citizens being deported back to New Zealand as they have the legal right to enter the country, regardless of what they have done overseas.

INZ prioritises compliance visits according to set criteria. Those engaged in criminality are the highest priority, starting with people who are a threat to national security. The other main priorities are:

• persons that are about to be released from prison
• persons that have come to the attention of Police for criminal conduct
• persons who have exhausted their pathways to remain in New Zealand:
  • they have no avenues of appeal, or
  • they have been determined to be a non-genuine refugee.

INZ works closely with the Department of Corrections and other agencies to manage the cases of people who are in prison and who are liable for deportation on their release from prison.

Deportations of non-residents

• People who stay in New Zealand longer than their visa allows are unlawfully in the country and are automatically liable for deportation. INZ may serve them with a Deportation Order once their appeal rights expire. Appeal rights begin on the day that the person becomes unlawful.
• In other cases where individuals are not unlawfully in New Zealand but there are grounds to make them liable for deportation (eg they have breached the conditions of their visa or have character issues), they will be served with a Deportation Liability Notice (DLN). This is the first stage in the deportation process and activates their appeal rights.
• In most cases, people have 42 days from the date they became liable for deportation to appeal against deportation on humanitarian grounds to the Immigration and Protection Tribunal (IPT) after first becoming unlawful. During this appeal period they cannot be deported from the country unless they agree to waive their appeal rights. A DLN will provide information about any applicable appeal rights and periods.
• There is no time limit on deporting non-residents and it is standard practice for people convicted of serious criminal offences to be deported after a prison term.

Deportations of residents

• An individual who is a New Zealand resident who is convicted of a criminal offence could become liable for deportation under section 161 of the Immigration Act 2009. Liability depends on when the person first held a residence class visa, the date of the offending and the sentence received or potential sentence the Court could give. There are 3 main tiers under section 161: 
  • The first is when a New Zealand resident commits an offence and that offending occurred while they were unlawfully in New Zealand, held a temporary visa or within 2 years of being granted residence. The offence must be one which the Court has the power to impose imprisonment for a term of 3 months or more. They do not have to be sentenced to 3 months but the Court must have the power to impose 3 months or more.
  • The second is when a New Zealand resident commits an offence and that offending occurred within the first 5 years of holding residence and the Court has the power to impose imprisonment for a term of 2 years or more. They do not have to be sentenced to 2 years but the Court must have the power to impose 2 years or more.
  • The third is when a New Zealand resident commits an offence and that offending occurred within 10 years of being granted residence. The Court must impose imprisonment for a term of 5 years or more for a person to be liable under this tier.
• Apart from becoming liable for deportation on account of being convicted for criminal offending, a residence class visa holder may also be made liable for deportation where INZ determines that the person had obtained residence due to having committed immigration fraud. For example, this could be providing false information in a visa application, or if new information regarding the person’s character becomes available.

Deportation numbers

Table 1: Breakdown of those deported in each of the last 5 financial years

Definitions for table 1

Deportation — A person who is unlawfully in New Zealand who has been served a deportation order and departs New Zealand, or a temporary visa holder who was made liable for deportation and departs New Zealand after the date when they may be served with a deportation order.

Self-deportation — A person who is unlawfully in New Zealand who departs New Zealand of their own volition and at no cost to the Ministry after the date when the person may be served with a deportation order, but they have not been served with such an order.  

Voluntary departure — A person who is unlawfully in New Zealand or is a temporary visa holder who was made liable for deportation and departs of their own volition and at no cost to the Ministry prior to the date when the person may be served with a deportation order.

People who have overstayed their visa

• Our latest estimate from 2017 indicates that there were approximately 14,000 migrants without valid visas in New Zealand at that time. The accuracy of data about those who have overstayed their visa is limited, as the data is influenced by several factors including inconsistencies between border movement and visa validity, historical data entry issues and missing and inaccurate border movements or both.
• Most people who have overstayed their visa are aged between 25 and 64. The majority were previously on a visitor visa (60%). Pacific nationals (Samoa, Tonga, Fiji, Tuvalu and Kiribati) make up around a third of the total estimate.

Table 2: Estimated top 10 nationalities of those who have overstayed their visa