NZ appears to have sufficient laws and mechanisms to allow denial of entry for individuals identified as being involved in grand corruption. Increased resourcing of the Police FIU will assist through gaining information identifying those engaged in corruption.

Updated: October 31, 2020

NZ appears to have sufficient laws and mechanisms to allow denial of entry for individuals identified as being involved in grand corruption. Increased resourcing of the Police FIU will assist through gaining information identifying those engaged in corruption.

The Minister of Immigration may refuse to grant a visa or entry permission to a person who is, or is likely to be, a threat to the public interest, which can include risk to international reputation (see section 16 of the Immigration Act 2009). This does not require a conviction, but must have a rational basis. Individuals identified as being involved in grand scale corruption could meet these criteria. A person the Minister considers is likely to commit an criminal offence in New Zealand, such as corruption, may also be denied entry. Immigration New Zealand (INZ) has a dedicated team of open-source researchers and welcomes information from international partners.New Zealand may not be able to refuse entry in every such case, particularly as affected individuals must be given the chance to comment on potentially prejudicial material.

Since May 2016: INZ has not received any information from international partners in regard to individuals involved in grand scale corruption INZ’s specialist Risk Assessment Team has not assessed any application from an individual known to be involved in grand scale corruption, and INZ has not identified any individual who is known to be involved in grand scale corruption who has been granted entry permission to New Zealand.

Peer reviewer: 1

Updated: April 30, 2020