Changes in immigration policy - Good thing!!

Change to residence policy makes immigration easier
20 August 2006

The Government is removing the cap on the number of family members New Zealand residents can bring here.

Immigration Minister David Cunliffe announced today that from next July there would be no cap on the number of residence places available to partners and dependent children of New Zealand residents and citizens.

'Removing the cap on places for partners and children means they can have more confidence about their immigration status and in general, waiting times will be reduced,' Mr Cunliffe said.

'As long as basic rules are met, for example people are in a genuine relationship and meet health and character requirements, these people will be guaranteed residence.'

Mr Cunliffe said partners and children needed certainty when applying for residence because it could affect family decisions to move here or live elsewhere.

'In particular, this change will support our expat programme, which aims to make it easier for New Zealanders overseas to come home.'

Parents, siblings and adult children of New Zealand sponsors would remain in a capped stream of the residence programme.

In another policy change, a maximum age of 55 years was introduced for sibling and adult child applicants.

'This limit reflects the age restriction for skilled migrants in the New Zealand Residence Programme and is part of the focus on the needs of New Zealand in a tight labour market.'

The policy changes were part of an ongoing review of the Family Sponsored Stream and further announcements would be made later in the year.

I guess that means there's still no benefit for parents who want to be sponsored for immigration. :'(

MotherBear,

I was hoping that will change very soon since they are looking at reviewing the immigration policy to attract more kiwis to return. Some may already married to foreigners while overseas and have in-laws who they can eventually relocate to New Zealand.

Pulsarblu

If NZIS really want to attract more immigrants, they have got to realise that most people do have parents who are a big part of their family life. Furthermore, the thought of 'abandoning' them in their old age is probably one of the biggest reasons for prospective immigrants to change their minds.

[smiley=icon_neutral.gif]

hear hear Glenda!!!

I sooo want my parents here and they soooo want to be here with us, I know MB has been waiting ages and it makes me sad [smiley=019.gif]

Just hope that the policy for family quota will extend to parents and in-laws soon.

Pulsarblu

As I am from a very close family, I must admit that not being able to take my parents with me is a major disadvantage. [smiley=icon_sad.gif]

Does anyone know if there is an English speaking country where parents can emigrate with you straight away or within a 4 year period?


Tottefan.

As I am from a very close family, I must admit that not being able to take my parents with me is a major disadvantage. [smiley=icon_sad.gif]

Does anyone know if there is an English speaking country where parents can emigrate with you straight away or within a 4 year period?


Tottefan.

Guantanomo Bay [smiley=icon_sad.gif]

Stricter migrant rules to be unveiled
Tuesday December 5, 2006
By Ruth Berry

Tough new immigration laws to be unveiled today will make it easier to expel unwanted overstayers, but the Government claims to have watered down some proposals after concerns were expressed about human rights issues. Immigration Minister David Cunliffe will give details of a review of the Immigration Act, and subsequent Cabinet decisions, this afternoon.

Widespread changes have been foreshadowed - including slashing the number of independent immigration appeal authorities from four to just one. This will quash the multiple avenues of appeal now available and shorten the time the process takes.

The Residence Review Board, the Removal Review Authority, the Deportation Tribunal and the Refugee Status Appeals Authority are expected to be merged into a single immigration and refugee appeals tribunal.

The Government also wants appeals against expulsion on humanitarian grounds by illegal overstayers to be restricted to fewer categories of people. And it wants legislative provisions for excluding non-citizens from entering New Zealand to be broadened and strengthened.

Clearer processes, including fewer steps, are also expected around the actual expulsion of overstayers.

The Government received nearly 4000 submissions on its discussion document on proposed changes to the act, of which 360 were not form letters. A further 650 people attended public meetings.

Mr Cunliffe told the Herald yesterday: "We have thought very, very carefully about what we've heard from the public and we've made a number of changes to the discussion document, some of them reasonably significant.

"There were a number of issues raised in the human rights area, there were some health issues raised, and some people felt that perhaps the powers of immigration officers might be going a bit too far."

The result was "something of a rebalancing to take account of the concerns that have been raised". He would not give details of those concerns raised or the final shape of the appeals process. Among other issues, human rights concerns may have been raised about plans to extend the use of classified information.

The discussion document proposed allowing classified information to be used for all forms of immigration decision-making without disclosing it to the applicant. Classified information cannot generally be used, unless it relates to a security risk, as in the case of the Algerian Muslim politician Ahmed Zaoui - where its use was controversial.

Aspects of the act relating to security risks - Part 4A - have been excluded from the review until the Zaoui case is resolved.

The Immigration Minister and Associate Immigration Minister were set to pass a considerable amount of their work to immigration officials under the proposed changes. This would include giving senior officials the power to make exceptions to residence policy - a job normally done by the associate minister.

The Government was further considering requiring a person to exhaust all avenues of appeal before seeking ministerial intervention.

A single document system based around visas will replace the current two-tier visa and permit system, essentially making it easier to use.

Another bit about it.

Govt unveils strict new immigration powers
05 December 2006
By COLIN ESPINER

All travellers to New Zealand could soon be subjected to American-style requirements to supply biometric data upon their arrival under changes to immigration laws unveiled by the Government today.

At a press conference this afternoon, Immigration Minister David Cunliffe confirmed that the new Immigration Act would contain provisions giving immigration officials the power to require the collection, storage, and use of biometric information from non-citizens "engaged with the immigration process".

That could include anyone applying for a tourist, temporary or residency visa - similar to what the United States already requires at its ports of entry.

Biometric data includes electronic fingerprints and iris scans, which are stored indefinitely on a central computer database.

The new bill will also include provisions for the collection and use of "limited" biometric data from New Zealand citizens at the border, although it does not say why.

Cunliffe said, however, that no decisions had yet been taken on how or when the powers to gather biometric information would be used, or whether it would apply to all visitors to New Zealand.

A further requirement that DNA samples be taken had been dropped from a draft of the legislation, Cunliffe said.

The biometric provision is one of 61 new provisions in the bill, which Cunliffe said would significantly tighten New Zealand's borders and streamline immigration processing while still protecting immigrants' civil and international human rights.

Other key changes include a new integrated visa system, a single appeal for would-be-refugees, the ability to deport new New Zealand citizens with fewer than five years' residency, a graduated system of time-limited bans on re-entry to New Zealand, and the use of data-matching between immigration and social service agencies.

Immigration officials will also be allowed to make greater use of classified information - currently restricted to security risk certificates issued against migrants considered to be a risk to national security.

Under the new legislation, classified information can be used in any visa, protection, or deportation decision where national or international security, criminal conduct, or "significant reputational issues for New Zealand" apply.

Cunliffe denied the bill represented an erosion of civil liberties, saying new safeguards had been built into the legidlation, including the right of applicants to request a summary of information held on them, an appeal to a three-person panel of judges, and new requirements for officials to consult with the minister before exercising some of their powers.

Cunliffe said the new legislation would still provide refugee claimants with the full protection of the law but would not allow them to spend years in the country indulging in a series of appeals.

"We will have a robust new international protection regime, a world-class independent appeals system and a model detention system that will uphold human rights and high standards of fairness.

"The world has changed since the current act was introduced in 1987, with competition for skills intensifying and new security issues arising."

Cunliffe said the Government had the numbers to get the bill through Parliament. The legislation would be introduced around April and would hopefully be passed by the end of next year.

- The Press