New Zealand is gravely concerned by the impact of this conflict on civilians. The loss of life is appalling. The Government is continuing to monitor the situation closely, along with our partners.

New Zealand has announced 4 tranches of support to the humanitarian response, totalling NZ$17 million, to address urgent humanitarian needs in Gaza, the West Bank and Israel. It includes contributions of:

• NZ$7.5 million to the World Food Programme (WFP)
• NZ$5 million to the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC)
• $2.5 million to the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), and
• $2 million to the United Nations 2720 Mechanism for Gaza.

New Zealand is supporting the humanitarian efforts of the International Committee of the Red Cross and the World Food Programme to address the urgent humanitarian needs in Gaza.

Immigration New Zealand (INZ) understands the difficult situation this crisis is causing for many and has great sympathy for those separated from their loved ones during this stressful time.

The primary way New Zealand provides support for international refugee situations is through the Refugee Quota, with an annual quota of 1500 people per annum.

Refugees accepted through the Refugee Quota are referred to INZ by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).

Information on New Zealand’s response to the Israel and Hamas conflict can be found on the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade’s website.
Israel-Hamas Conflict — Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade’s website

Where New Zealand has previously created new visa pathways for certain conflicts these have been in response to specific and different circumstances.

Afghanistan was a situation where unique circumstances required a targeted approach as Afghan nationals were at risk of harm due to their previous work and connections with the New Zealand Defence Force and other agencies in Afghanistan.

Ukraine was an unusual situation given the fact that the UNHCR was unable to refer people from Ukraine to New Zealand through INZ's refugee quota, which meant there were limited pathways for Ukrainian refugees.

Decisions on changes to immigration policy settings are decided by the Government.

Immigration New Zealand (INZ) response

Since the conflict between Israel and Hamas started, INZ has put in place processes to ensure consistency and priority allocation for any applications received for people living in these locations. These processes include:

• Processing all visitor visa general applications from Palestinian and Israeli passport holders in the same office.
• Setting up a dedicated INZ mailbox for applicants to use to request prioritisation of applications.
• The New Zealand Embassy in Cairo providing consular assistance for New Zealand citizens and residents attempting to leave Gaza and travel to New Zealand. So far, 26 New Zealand citizens and permanent residents have been assisted to leave Gaza.

INZ's response as at 14 May 2024

Since 7 October 2023, INZ has received:

• 447 applications from Israeli nationals across both temporary and residence visa applications. Of those received, 340 have been approved, 16 declined and the remainder are either in progress or have been withdrawn.
• 81 applications from Palestinian passport holders across both temporary and residence visa applications. Of those received, 54 have been approved, 16 declined and the remainder are either in progress or have been withdrawn.

Of the approved applications 80 Israeli nationals and 13 Palestinians have arrived onshore. These include all visa types.

Designation of the Entirety of Hamas as a Terrorist Entity and Travel Ban on Extremist Israeli Settlers

On 29 February 2024, the Government announced the decision to place travel bans on certain extremist Israeli settlers who have committed violent attacks against Palestinians in the West Bank.

A range of sources has been drawn on to identify the banned individuals and comprehensive due diligence has been undertaken. To protect the integrity of the immigration system, we are unable to comment further on what this entails. To date, 2 tranches of extremist Israeli settlers have been added to the list.

More information can be found on the New Zealand Government website, beehive.govt.nz:

Travel bans on extremist Israeli settlers — beehive.govt.nz website

NZ designates entirety of Hamas as terrorist entity — beehive.govt.nz website