International Migration Outlook – New Zealand 2008/09
Flows of refugees and asylum seekers
Policy
The Immigration Act 2009 creates a new refugee and protection decision-making framework. The Act incorporates into legislation the 1951 Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees and the 1967 Protocol Relating to the Status of Refugees (the Refugee Convention), and codifies New Zealand's existing immigration-related obligations under the Convention against Torture, and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.
The Act sets out clear processes and protocols for managing claims for refugee and protection status and ensures all of an individual's claims are assessed together to provide for a more efficient and fair determination of New Zealand's obligations to the individual. The Act also contains some provisions primarily focused on managing abuse of the asylum process including:
- That refugee and protection decisions can be released where it is in the public interest and is safe to do so. This will ensure there is a lawful authority to respond to claimants who abuse the refugee process by publicising falsehoods
- That where a foreign national creates the grounds for a refugee status claim in bad faith, their claim can be declined for consideration but that they can have an appeal. This change is based on current New Zealand case law that says where someone manufactures a ground for claiming refugee status, they cannot be found to be a refugee.
The Act limits some subsequent claims where there has been no material change in circumstances. Subsequent claims for refugee and protection status can be rejected if they are found to be manifestly unfounded, clearly abusive, or repeat a previous claim.
To support the implementation of the Act, policy is being developed to determine the immigration status of people given refugee and/or protection status. The Act provides that people who are excluded under the refugee convention but who have protection status will have their immigration status determined by the Minister of Immigration.
Asylum seekers
In the last decade, the number of people seeking asylum in New Zealand has decreased significantly. In 2008/09, 246 people sought asylum in New Zealand, compared with 2,646 a decade earlier. Iran is currently the largest source country of asylum seekers. Table 9 shows the top 10 source countries of asylum seekers in 2007/08 and 2008/09.
New Zealand decided 240 refugee status claims in 2008/09.[15] Thirteen percent of decisions were made on subsequent claims for asylum (that is, following an earlier claim that had been found not to be genuine). Refugee status was granted in 72 cases (30 percent) and declined in 168 cases. Table 10 shows successful refugee status claims by source country in 2008/09.
| Source country | 2007/08 | 2008/09 | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| n | % | n | % | |
| Total | 267 | 100 | 246 | 100 |
| Iran | 22 | 8 | 28 | 11 |
| Sri Lanka | 36 | 13 | 23 | 9 |
| Fiji | 8 | 3 | 23 | 9 |
| China | 16 | 6 | 22 | 9 |
| Iraq | 46 | 17 | 16 | 7 |
| Czech Republic | 6 | 2 | 14 | 6 |
| India | 4 | 1 | 12 | 5 |
| Bangladesh | 9 | 3 | 10 | 4 |
| Syria | 1 | <1 | 10 | 4 |
| Malaysia | 11 | 4 | 7 | 3 |
| Other | 108 | 40 | 81 | 33 |
Source: Department of Labour.
| Source country | n | % |
|---|---|---|
| Total | 72 | 100 |
| Iraq | 21 | 29 |
| China | 12 | 17 |
| Sri Lanka | 9 | 13 |
| Iran | 6 | 8 |
| Afghanistan | 3 | 4 |
| Zimbabwe | 3 | 4 |
| Cameroon | 2 | 3 |
| Eritrea | 2 | 3 |
| Fiji | 2 | 3 |
| Saudi Arabia | 2 | 3 |
| Other | 10 | 14 |
Source: Department of Labour.
Refugee status claimants may be placed into detention if concerns exist about their identity or any risk to national security or public order. These concerns must be balanced against the person's right to freedom of movement, and any issues of wellbeing related to their individual circumstances (for example, minor status). Those who are not detained (including those who make post-border claims) are usually granted a permit to allow them to remain in New Zealand while their claim is assessed. In many cases, especially for family groups, a work permit will be issued to allow the claimant(s) to either work or access welfare provisions. In 2008/09, 363 work permits were issued to asylum seekers.[16]
If asylum-seekers are granted refugee status, they are usually provided with a work permit (if they do not already have one). They may then lodge a residence application, which will give them the same access to the labour market as other permanent residents have.
Permanent residence is approved separately from refugee status. In 2008/09, 207 successful refugee status claimants were approved for residence. The low number of successful refugee status claimants being approved for residence is likely to continue as fewer people seek asylum in New Zealand.
If a claim has been assessed and declined, failed refugee status claimants may not apply for a further permit while in New Zealand and must leave New Zealand as soon as possible. However, there are no legislative limitations on the number of times an individual can claim refugee status in New Zealand, although subsequent claims need to be based on new information or changed circumstances. Additionally, appeal avenues exist for failed refugee status claimants through the Refugee Status Appeals Authority and the courts. An individual who makes a subsequent claim can apply for further permits to allow them to stay in New Zealand lawfully while their claim is assessed.
Refugee quota
Each year New Zealand accepts up to 750 refugees referred by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees as part of the annual Refugee Quota. In 2008/09, 701 refugees were accepted as part of the Refugee Quota. The leading source countries of these refugees were Bhutan (195), Myanmar (152), and Iraq (114). Table 11 shows the source countries of refugees accepted in the 2008/09 quota and the countries where they had taken refuge before being accepted.
The majority of refugees (499 or 71 percent) selected for the 2008/09 Refugee Quota were standard protection cases. Of the total, 284 were aged under 18 years and the remaining 417 were aged 18 or over .
On arrival in New Zealand, quota refugees are granted permanent residence, which gives them access to all rights to employment, education, and other services that are available for other New Zealand citizens and residents.
|
Country |
Nationality |
Last country of refuge |
|---|---|---|
| Total | 701 | 701 |
| Afghanistan | 29 | 22 |
| Bangladesh | 0 | 28 |
| Burundi | 6 | 0 |
| Bhutan | 195 | 0 |
| Cambodia | 0 | 2 |
| Cameroon | 0 | 1 |
| China | 8 | 0 |
| Colombia | 48 | 0 |
| Congo, Democratic Republic of | 55 | 2 |
| Ecuador | 0 | 48 |
| Eritrea | 49 | 0 |
| Ethiopia | 3 | 7 |
| India | 1 | 5 |
| Indonesia | 1 | 13 |
| Iran | 2 | 8 |
| Iraq | 114 | 1 |
| Jordan | 0 | 10 |
| Kenya | 0 | 2 |
| Lebanon | 0 | 1 |
| Malaysia | 0 | 92 |
| Myanmar | 152 | 0 |
| Nepal | 1 | 196 |
| Norway | 0 | 1 |
| Palestine | 29 | 0 |
| Pakistan | 0 | 1 |
| Rwanda | 4 | 0 |
| Sri Lanka | 2 | 0 |
| Sudan | 2 | 44 |
| Syria | 0 | 87 |
| Thailand | 0 | 67 |
| Uganda | 0 | 63 |
Source: Refugee Quota Branch data, Department of Labour.
[15] The decision regarding a claim may occur in a different year to the year in which the claim was initially made. Therefore, the number of refugee decisions in any one year may differ from the number of claims.
[16] This includes people appealing their refugee status decision.