C4.25 Claims for refugee status on arrival in New Zealand

1. Under the guidelines set down by the UNHCR, New Zealand has a general obligation to admit people who make a claim for refugee status on arrival in New Zealand.
2. Officers should give due consideration to such people because they may be tired, disoriented, distressed, and incapable of communicating in English, either orally or in writing.
3. Immigration officers must not take any action to remove the claimant.
4. Unless a preliminary assessment of the claim made by an immigration officer indicates that the claim appears to be "abusive" or "manifestly unfounded", an officer may grant a visitor's permit in accordance with E8.5.
5. A refugee status claim is abusive or manifestly unfounded if:
   1. it is clearly fraudulent or unrelated to the criteria for granting refugee status laid down in the Convention; or
   2. the claimant is claiming refugee status in an attempt to evade normal immigration requirements.
6. If a permit is not granted, the claimant must be treated as a person to whom section 128 of the Immigration Act 1987 applies, except that they may not be removed from New Zealand until their refugee status has been finally determined.

Effective 01/10/1999