2015-Jul 03: Process for when a visa label has been endorsed in the incorrect passport

Visa Pak 218 - Guidelines about process for when a visa label has been endorsed in the incorrect passport and action taken to resolve the potential breach

Visa Paks

3 July 2015

Process for when a visa label has been endorsed in the incorrect passport

Occasionally, human error results in physical visa labels being endorsed in the wrong passport. This advice sets out the steps that should be followed to resolve the issue.

Privacy

If a visa label for a client is incorrectly endorsed in another client’s passport, this is a potential privacy breach as the visa label contains personal details of another person including their full name, date of birth, visa type and duration, etc.

Reporting

This must be reported:

  • If the passport has been dispatched back to the passport-holder, a privacy breach has occurred and should be reported as a breach.
  • If the issue is identified before the passport has been dispatched it should be reported as a "near miss".
  • Report any near misses or breaches.

Resolving the breach

Crossing out the information with a permanent marker is not sufficient to make it unreadable. Attempting to remove the visa label may damage the passport, and as such is not recommended. These actions may also raise questions when the passport-holder presents their passport to other embassies or at a country border.

Because of the security features on a visa label, once the visa label has been endorsed in another client’s passport, there is no easy way to resolve the breach. The best option is to place a new visa label, with the correct details, directly over the incorrect label.

To mitigate potential issues for the passport holder, a letter must be provided to the client outlining that a visa was issued in error and that the visa label subsequently endorsed is the correct visa. This letter must contain contact details for verification purposes. AMS notes must also clearly record the issue and the steps taken to resolve it so that verification can be undertaken if required.

As the breach is the result an Immigration New Zealand (INZ) error, clients who are unhappy with the solution above should be offered the option of INZ paying the cost for a new passport to be issued to them. You must ensure the costs incurred are agreed by a person with the appropriate financial authority.

Please discuss this advice and the steps above with staff responsible for issuing visa labels.