Y8.1 Claims for refugee or protection status at port of entry

See also Immigration Act 2009 ss 125, 133

1. Under the guidelines set down by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and the obligations set out in the Immigration Act 2009 with reference to the Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CAT) and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), New Zealand has a general obligation to admit people who make a claim for refugee or protection status on arrival in New Zealand.
2. An indication of intent is all that is required to initiate the processing of a refugee or protection claim.
3. Immigration officers should give due consideration to people who wish to claim refugee or protection status, because they may be tired, disoriented, distressed, and incapable of communicating in English, either orally or in writing.
4. People may express an intention to seek refugee or protection status in a variety of ways, to a representative of the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment or a constable including, but not limited to, statements of the following kind:
   1. they have been persecuted; or
   2. they are in fear of being persecuted; or
   3. they have been imprisoned for political reasons; or
   4. they are afraid of being imprisoned in their home country; or
   5. they want to 'see the United Nations' (ie the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees ('UNHCR')); or
   6. they want to know if there is a United Nations office in New Zealand; or
   7. they are 'stateless' or 'homeless' persons; or
   8. they want to see a lawyer; or
   9. they are afraid to return to their home country; or
   10. they are in danger of being subjected to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment if they are returned home; or
   11. they will be in danger of being arbitrarily killed; or
   12. they simply "do not want to return".
5. No person who is a refugee or protection status claimant may be turned around at the border or deported from New Zealand until their refugee or protection status has been finally determined.
6. Assessment against the general instructions at Y3.5 will indicate where a person is not someone to whom a visa should be granted.
7. Other than where (f) above applies, claimants may be granted temporary visas as outlined at E8.10.If a decision has been made to refuse to grant entry permission, an officer may recommend to the Decision-making Panel: Freedom of Movement of Asylum Claimants (the Panel), that the claimant’s freedom of movement should be restricted, as per the Operational instruction at A16.2.
8. If a decision has been made to refuse to grant entry permission, an officer may recommend to the Decision-making Panel: Freedom of Movement of Asylum Claimants (the Panel), that the claimant’s freedom of movement should be restricted, as per the Operational instruction at A16.2.

Effective 04/08/2026