A Short Guide for Deportation and Removal from New Zealand

A person can be forcibly removed from New Zealand in one of two ways: deportation or removal. Deportation requires a formal New Zealand deportation order, which is only utilised in the case of permanent residents of New Zealand. For people confined in immigration detention, removal is an automatic process that does not require a particular order.

Removing people makes them illegal non-citizens. They do not have a valid visa to enter New Zealand, whether it has expired or been revoked. If you are an illegal immigrant, the Department of Home Affairs will usually put you in immigration detention until you can be removed from New Zealand as quickly as possible. If you leave New Zealand willingly before being brought into immigration detention, you can escape being deported.

Your right to return to New Zealand may be restricted if you are deported or removed from the country. These can include a permanent restriction on re-entry or a temporary ban on applying for a future visa.

Deportation

Permanent residents and some New Zealand citizens who are not New Zealand nationals are subject to deportation. If you have been convicted of certain serious offences and received a prison sentence, or if you are considered a threat to New Zealand's security, you may be deported. Before being deported, you will be allowed to challenge your unfavourable security assessment if an order is made on these grounds.

The deportation procedure

You may be arrested without a warrant if a deportation order has been issued. You must notify the authorities within 48 hours if you are not the person specified in the deportation order. You will then be brought before a judge to have that question decided.

If you are currently incarcerated, the details of your deportation will be finalised before you are released. You will most likely be driven straight from prison to the airport and must go as soon as possible. Otherwise, you would be held in immigration custody for as long as possible before being transported to the airport.

You will be responsible for the fees associated with your New Zealand deportation.

Removal

If you are an illegal non-citizen, you may be deported from New Zealand. This may occur if:

• After your temporary visa has expired, you decide to stay in New Zealand.
• You came to New Zealand without a visa
• You came to New Zealand under false pretences. This includes entering with a counterfeit passport or other travel document or entering with a passenger card that contained false or misleading information
• You have violated a visa condition and your visa has been revoked, or you have violated a visa condition and your visa has been revoked.
• Your visa has been revoked because you no longer meet the character requirements and have not made any representations to have the cancellation revoked.

Getting rid of it

If police know or have reasonable suspicion that you are an unauthorised non-citizen, they must arrest and hold you. You will be held in immigration detention until you are deported or granted a permit to leave New Zealand. The Migration Regulations of 1994 limit the kind of visas that illegal non-citizens can seek.

If you are not in immigration detention, you may be eligible for a Bridging Visa 'E,' which allows you to:

• Make travel plans to leave New Zealand
• Apply for a substantive visa; await the outcome of a review of a substantive visa refusal; or
• Request that the Minister intervene and issue you a visa to which you are not legally entitled.

If your visa has been cancelled due to a failure to pass the character test, you will be detained and will not be able to apply for a Bridging Visa 'E' until all petitions to have the cancellation revoked have been resolved.

If your application for a Bridging Visa 'E' is denied, you will be unable to apply for another 30 days. You will be allowed to stay in New Zealand for a set period if your application is approved. Otherwise, you will be arrested and deported from New Zealand unless you leave freely.

Appeals

You may be entitled to judicial review if the Minister personally cancels your visa due to a failure to pass the character test.

If your visa was cancelled due to non-compliance with your visa requirements, you may be able to appeal immigration decision to the Administrative Appeals Tribunal – Migration and Refugee Division.