Source: New Zealand Government
The Government will introduce the Immigration (Enhanced Risk Management) Amendment Bill to Parliament this afternoon, a package of practical and targeted changes to strengthen New Zealand’s immigration system and ensure it remains fit for today’s challenges.
“Immigration is important for New Zealand, and we are committed to ensuring we continue to attract the skilled people we need, while making it easier to address migrant exploitation, serious criminals, and immigration breaches”, Immigration Minister Erica Stanford says.
“The new Bill introduces several changes to ensure we have the right, proportionate tools to manage immigration risks.
“It focuses on striking the right balance between managing risk and maintaining strong safeguards for all people in New Zealand, ensuring our immigration system is fair, functional, and effective.”
Many of these proposed changes were announced last year after policy decisions were taken. This includes strengthening the ability to deport people who have committed serious crimes by extending the period of residence during which a person can be subject to liability for deportation from ten to twenty years.
Alongside the Bill, a Parliamentary paper will be tabled with proposals for a further suite of changes. These will be aimed at protecting and strengthening the system around asylum claims so that New Zealanders can continue to have trust and confidence in the integrity of the immigration system.
The Parliamentary paper includes:
- Amending our interpretation of Article 1F(b) of the Refugee Convention which excludes people who commit serious crimes before admission to the country of refuge from refugee status, to extend that exclusion where they have committed a serious crime after arriving in New Zealand but before refugee status determination.
- Better managing asylum claimants who act in bad faith; and
- Better managing claimants who fail to attend biometric appointments
“Currently, if a person who has claimed refugee status has been convicted of a serious crime in New Zealand before status determination, Immigration New Zealand is unable to take that into account when making a decision,” Ms Stanford says.
“There are currently 14 refugee known claims from people who have been convicted of serious offences in New Zealand, including murder, serious sexual and drug offences, and arson. This change will mean that Immigration New Zealand can take convictions for crimes committed in New Zealand into account when making a decision on their refugee claim.”
The proposed amendment will ensure that people who commit crimes either offshore or in New Zealand before their refugee claim is determined are treated the same, sending a signal that this behaviour is not tolerated and maintaining public confidence in our refugee and protection system.
Two of the other proposals relate to better managing instances of bad faith such as where people take actions to deliberately engage in provocative political activity after arriving in New Zealand, such as seeking social media or media attention to create or increase their grounds for recognition as a refugee.
These will ensure that both INZ and the Immigration Protection Tribunal have the ability to deal with cases made in bad faith as swiftly as possible, and that the benefits associated with refugee status are reserved for those who genuinely deserve them.
The changes will continue to ensure that we maintain our international obligation to not return someone to a country where they are likely to face persecution or other serious harm.
“New Zealanders want us to do our part to provide refuge to people who are genuinely fleeing conflict and persecution. However, the privilege of being offered a life in new Zealand needs to be balanced with consequences for people who abuse that privilege or non-genuine claims that seek to take advantage of the system. These proposals strike the right balance between these,” Ms Stanford says.
The Bill is expected to have its first reading in the coming weeks and will proceed through the full parliamentary process.
