The immigration impact of criminal charges on non-citizens in New Zealand

The immigration impact of criminal charges on non-citizens Most lawyers will have clients who have recently arrived in New Zealand, many of whom will not have obtained citizenship. Others will have family and friends who are non-citizens and who come up against issues involving their status or potential status in New Zealand, arising out of … Read more

Lapsing visitor visas during the pandemic

Higgs and Witbrock v Minister of Immigration [2022] NZHC 1333 On 8 June 2022 the High Court at Auckland ruled that the New Zealand Bill of Rights Act was not breached when the Minister of Immigration lapsed various visitor visa applications where partners of New Zealand citizens were involved. During the Covid-19 pandemic Immigration New … Read more

New Zealand’s New Investor Residence Category

Active Investor Plus category: 11 August 2022 On 20 July the New Zealand Government announced that the Investor 1 and Investor 2 categories would close. Applications in process would be accepted only until 27 July. Applications that have already been lodged and are waiting in the queue will continue to be processed under the existing … Read more

High Court rules against Immigration

High Court declares refusal to consider offshore residence visa applications unlawful. In a paper dated 15 July 2020, I pointed out that the suspension of offshore residence visa applications by Immigration New Zealand was unlawful. It offended against a very basic principle, stretching back to the Magna Carta, that once a statutory application is filed … Read more

New NZ Residence Policy

New 2021 Resident Visa On 30 September 2021, the New Zealand Government announced a new one-off residence visa that will provide a simplified pathway to residence for approximately 165,000 migrant workers currently in New Zealand. This new visa provides a way forward for migrant workers whose futures in New Zealand have been shrouded by COVID-19. … Read more

Immigration relief measures by country during Covid-19

Immigration relief measures by country during Covid-19:(an International Bar Association Project of the Immigration and Nationality Law Committee) New Zealand Contributor: David Ryken, Ryken and Associates, Barristers and Solicitors, Auckland New Zealand Inbound travel/border restrictions 3 February 2020: Travel from China banned except for New Zealand citizens, residents and foreigners who have been outside of … Read more

Investor Residence for New Zealand

INTERNATIONAL BAR ASSOCIATION GLOBAL IMMIGRATION CONFERENCE 30 October – 1 November 2019 NEW ZEALAND’S HALFWAY HOUSE INVESTOR VISAS FOR LIFE David Ryken, Principal New Zealand’s Halfway House Investor Visas For Life New Zealand does not sell passports or have an investor citizenship program.  What it does offer however is quite unique throughout the world.  After … Read more

Business Residence Class Visas

BUSINESS RESIDENCE CLASS VISAS   INTRODUCTION This paper will consider Immigration New Zealand’s policy in the following areas: (i) Investor 1 (Investor Plus). (ii) Investor 2. (iii) Entrepreneur (Work to Residence). (iv) Permanent Residence. (v) Parent Retirement (an investor category). After discussing the basic policy provisions by way of introduction, there will be further discussion … Read more

Convictions and Good Character Issues: Clean Slate and Immigration Consequences

Convictions and Good Character Issues:  Clean Slate and Immigration Consequences Introduction Section 14(1) Criminal Records (Clean Slate) Act 2004: “If an individual is an eligible individual, he or she is deemed to have no criminal record for the purposes of any question asked of him or her about his or her criminal record.” In the April … Read more

Wiping Historical Offences

Stewart Dalley guides us through the process of applying for historical homosexual offences to be wiped from criminal records. Who Can Apply? Persons convicted, or those acting on behalf of a deceased convicted person, can apply personally or through a representative. What Can Be Wiped? The list of offences you can apply to wipe are … Read more

Case Law Update – IPT Residence Appeals

This paper was first delivered at the LexisNexis Immigration Law Conference on 22 May 2018 Stewart Dalley, Associate; Somang you, Senior Solicitor, and Pooja Sundar, Solicitor, Ryken and Associates   RESIDENCE APPEALS – CURRENT LANDSCAPE   Since last year’s conference there have been 235 decisions fully uploaded to the Immigration and Protection Tribunal’s website (covering … Read more

Recent changes to immigration laws: Implications for hospitality employers

This article first appeared in October 2017 issue of Hospitality Insights Vol 1, No 1, Inaugural issue. Immigration New Zealand (INZ) recently announced changes to the skilled migrant residence and essential-skills work visas based on a strong association between skills and salary. This shift will impact both employers and migrants, especially in hospitality. According to the INZ, … Read more

New Zealand immigration by investment

  This article first appeared in the March 2018 issue of the Newsletter of the Immigration and Nationality Law Committee of the Legal Practice Division of the International Bar Association (Vol 22, No 1) and is reproduced by kind permission of the International Bar Association, London, UK. © International Bar Association.   New Zealand immigration … Read more

New Zealand Immigration Law: Entrepreneur v Investor

NEW ZEALAND IMMIGRATION LAW AND POLICY ENTREPRENEUR V INVESTOR   Introduction New Zealand has an Entrepreneur Work Visa Category which, after a business is established satisfactorily, entitles the applicant to lodge residence under the Entrepreneur Residence Visa Category. This is a transitional process involving actively setting up a business, usually employing New Zealand citizens and residents, … Read more

Immigration Policies and their Impact on New Zealand Society

Immigration Policies and their Impact on New Zealand Society 1.0 THE COLONIAL PAST 1.1 New Zealand was undoubtedly the last country in the world to be settled by humanity. The Maori people, the tangata whenua arrived from the central South Pacific, probably during the 13th and 14th centuries (see King (see below at 2.5): pages … Read more

Section 6 NZBORA – In the Eye of the Beholder?

Section 6 NZBORA – In the Eye of the Beholder? On 7 March 2016, the Human Rights Review Tribunal (HRRT) delivered its decision in Adoption Action Inc v Attorney-General [2016] NZHRRT 9. Here, the HRRT issued six declarations of inconsistency between the Human Rights Act 1993 and the Adoption Act 1955 (it also issued a … Read more

Can You Bring The Family?

Can You Bring the Family: A Review of Current Immigration Trends in Family Immigration: New Zealand 1.0 Introduction 1.1 New Zealand has liberal policies relating to those who may be included as dependants in a primary application for residence. Over the last ten years, subsequent sponsorships for family members however, have become more restrictive, unless … Read more

Immigration Issues and Doing Business In New Zealand

Immigration Issues and Doing Business In New Zealand (Excerpt) Reference is made to the very helpful article on immigration issues involved with doing business in the United States, written by Zachary Norris and Ada Echetebu. Almost without exception the problems facing New Zealanders bound for the US are identical or parallel to the problems and … Read more