DOIA 2324 1469 Wendy Yang response.pdf

9 February 2024

Wendy Yang
[FYI request #25392 email]

   File No: DOIA 2324-1469

Tēnā koe Wendy,

I refer to your request under the Official Information Act 1982 (the Act) received on 13 January 2024
requesting the following information from the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment
(Ministry):
  1.  Please provide information regarding the reasons and SOPs for canceling both temporary
and resident visas offshore, respectively, with each type of temporary visa listed separately.
2.
Please provide the number of general visitor visa holders and accredited employer work
visa holders departing from China who were interviewed while checking in at the airport
and how many visas were cancel ed after the interviews.
3.
Please provide information on the number of individuals departing from China who were
denied entry upon arrival in New Zealand, leading to a turnaround each month in 2023 and
specify the visas held and reasons.

Our Response

Question 1: The reasons a resident or temporary visa may be cancel ed are set out in the
Immigration Act 2009 (IA09).

Cancel ation of resident visa offshore:
A resident visa may be cancelled at any time before its holder first arrives in New Zealand as the
holder of that visa, provided both of the following are met:

•  The visa was granted when the holder was outside New Zealand, and
•  The person no longer meets the rules or criteria of the immigration instructions applicable at
the time the application for the visa was made.

The visa holder must be notified in writing if their visa is cancelled under this section. Section 65 of
the IA09 refers - Section 65 Cancellation of resident visa before holder first arrives in New Zealand as
holder of visa

Cancel ation of temporary visa offshore:
The Minister or an Immigration Officer may cancel a temporary entry class visa at any time when the
holder is outside New Zealand, if they determine that there is sufficient reason to do so. They may
also cancel a transit visa at any time.

The visa holder must be notified in writing if their visa is cancelled under this section and they are
outside New Zealand. The above applies to all types of temporary entry class visa.  Section 66 of the
IA09 refers - Section 66 Cancellation of temporary entry class or transit visa by Minister or
immigration officer

Cancel ation of visa for administrative error:
Further to the above, an immigration officer may cancel a visa that the officer believes on
reasonable grounds was granted as a result of an administrative error if one of the following apply:

•  The visa was granted to a person designated by the chief executive under Section 383 of the
IA09, and the person is still in the designated place or they have not left the arrival hall of
the airport or port at which they arrived in New Zealand.
•  The visa was granted to a person in an immigration control area or department office in New
Zealand, and the person is still in the control area or office.
•  Advice of the grant of the visa has not been sent or given to the person concerned.

Section 67 of the IA09 refers - Section 67 Cancellation of visa for administrative error

Section 8 of the IA09 provides further detail as to when a visa or entry permission may be
considered to be granted as a result of administrative error - Section 8 Meaning of granting visa or
entry permission as result of administrative error

Cancel ation of visa on triggering event
Section 64 of the IA09 lists other events which trigger the cancellation of a visa - Section 64
Cancellation of visa on triggering event

The following immigration instructions contained in the Operational Manual also relate to the above
sections of the IA09:

E3.40 Cancellation of visas on triggering event
E3.45 Cancellation of visa for administrative error
E3.55 Cancellation of temporary entry class or transit visas
Y6.1 Cancellation of visa for administrative error (border entry)
Y6.5 Making a decision to cancel a visa on the basis of administrative error (border entry)

Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs):

The information regarding the SOP for cancelling both temporary and resident visas offshore are not
finalised, as such your request is refused under section 18(e) of the Act as the information requested
does not currently exist.

Question 2: The number of general visitor visa holders and accredited employer work visa holders
departing China who were interviewed while checking in at the airport and how many visas were
cancel ed after the interviews.

This portion of your request is being refused under section 18(f) of the OIA as the information
cannot be made available without substantial collation or research.  In accordance with section
18A(1) of the Act, I have considered whether fixing a charge under section 15 or further extending
the time limit under section 15A would enable your request to be granted, but it is my view that
neither would do so.  Please note, there is a large number of records that would need to be
manually reviewed in order for us to respond to this part of your request.

Individuals can be interacted with at check-in by Border Officers for a number of reasons and the
nature and duration of the interactions is not visible in the available data. For example, INZ cannot
readily distinguish an interaction with an individual to assess if they meet visa and entry
requirements (an ‘interview’) from a technical interaction with an airline representative about the

individual to resolve a data entry error at check-in. Because the interactions are also recorded
differently across multiple systems substantial collation is required to accurately identify the sub-set
of individuals requested.

Question 3: The number of individuals departing from China who were denied entry upon arrival in New
Zealand, leading to a turnaround each month in 2023 and specify the visas held and reasons.

In 2023, 355 individuals who were denied entry on arrival in New Zealand were recorded as having
departed from China. This is based on records where a Chinese port is listed as the check-in, origin,
embarkation, or offload port, and this is visible to Immigration New Zealand.

The tables below are a breakdown of those 355 individuals by month and visa type.

Visitor visa holders
Month
Excluded or characte   Non-genuine reasons for
Other
Total
concerns
travelling to New Zealand
January 2023
2
1
1
4
February 2023
3
15
3
21
March 2023
1
14
2
17
April 2023
1
13
5
19
May 2023
0
18
9
27
June 2023
0
14
8
22
July 2023
1
24
4
29
August 2023
0
30
8
38
September 2023
2
27
11
40
October 2023
0
33
9
42
November 2023
1
21
13
35
December 2023
2
15
5
22
Total
13
225
78
316

Work visa holders
Month
Excluded or characte   Non-genuine reasons for
Other
Total
concerns
travelling to New Zealand
January 2023
0
0
0
0
February 2023
0
0
0
0
March 2023
0
0
0
0
April 2023
0
0
0
0
May 2023
0
0
0
0
June 2023
0
0
0
0
July 2023
0
0
0
0
August 2023
1
2
6
9
September 2023
0
0
5
5
October 2023
0
1
0
1
November 2023
0
0
0
0
December 2023
0
0
0
0
Total
1
3
11
15

NZeTA/no visa
Month
Excluded or characte Non-genuine reasons for
Other
Total
concerns
travelling to New Zealand
January 2023
0
0
1
1
February 2023
0
1
0
1
March 2023
0
0
1
1
April 2023
0
1
0
1
May 2023
1
0
3
4
June 2023
0
1
4
5
July 2023
0
1
2
3
August 2023
0
0
1
1
September 2023
0
0
0
0
October 2023
0
0
1
1
November 2023
0
3
0
3
December 2023
0
2
1
3
Total
1
9
14
24

Please note: No other visa types were denied entry.

You have the right to seek an investigation and review by the Ombudsman of this decision. Information
about how to make a complaint is available at www.ombudsman.parliament.nz or freephone 0800
802 602.

If you wish to discuss any aspect of your request or this response, please contact
[email address].

Nāku noa, nā

Richard Owen
General Manager – Immigration Risk and Border
Immigration New Zealand
Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment