A23.1 Overview and legal framework

A23.1.1 Overview

See also Immigration Act 2009 ss 39, 40, 265

1. The Minister may, at any time, grant any type of visa to a person who is:
   1. unlawfully in New Zealand; and
   2. not a person in respect of whom a deportation order is in force.
2. The Minister's power to grant a visa in a special case has been delegated to officers with Schedule 3 delegations or above.
3. As the grant of a visa under section 61 is a matter of absolute discretion, no person has the right to apply for a visa under section 61, and if a person purports to make such an application by requesting the grant of a visa under section 61:
   1. the Minister or delegated immigration officer is not obliged to consider the request; and
   2. the Minister or delegated immigration officer is not obliged to make further enquiries or inquire into the circumstances of the person or any other person; and
   3. whether a request is considered or not, the Minister or immigration officer is not obliged to give reasons for any decision on it, other than that section 11 applies; and
   4. Information privacy principle 6 (which relates to access to personal information and is set out in section 22 of the Privacy Act 2020) does not apply to any reasons for any decision relating to the purported application; and
   5. section 23 of the Official Information Act 1982 and section 27 of the Immigration Act 2009 (concerning the right of access to reasons for decisions) do not apply.
4. In simple terms people who make requests under section 61:
   1. have no right to apply for a visa under it;
   2. have full responsibility for ensuring that any and all information that might potentially be considered in any exercise of the section 61 discretion is put forward with their request;
   3. have no right to have their request considered;
   4. if their request is considered, have no right to be told why a particular decision was reached;
   5. if their request is considered, have no right to have it considered against any particular immigration instructions.

Effective 28/01/2021