'A privilege, not a right': More deportation powers among NZ First policies

More powers to deport criminal non-citizens, demanding the immigration portfolio and a referendum on capping resident visas at 20,000 are among the raft of immigration policies New Zealand First will take to the election. 

The party is announcing 14 policies as part of its immigration platform, which is intended to place higher value on being a New Zealand citizen, make citizenship more difficult to attain and limit visa holders’ rights, the Herald can report exclusively. 

NZ First leader Winston Peters, who will speak to the policies at an immigration conference in Auckland this morning, said his party would construct an “immigration system [that] must serve New Zealand and New Zealanders”. 

“New Zealand First will substantially reduce non-essential immigration and restore the principle that immigration is a privilege, not a right.” 

One plank of the party’s policy platform was to allow automatic deportation, meaning an appeal was not possible, for non-citizens who were “found guilty of violent or sexual crimes, or found guilty of fraud, participating in an organised criminal group, money laundering, aiding and abetting under the Immigration Act or migrant exploitation”. 

It would also widen deportation criteria to cover any offence for which a non-citizen could be imprisoned, although appeals would remain an option. 

The coalition was progressing a bill that would extend from 10 to 20 years the time a resident visa holder convicted of a serious offence could be liable for deportation. 

NZ First’s policy wasn’t time-limited. It’s understood the party intended to replace the Government’s bill, which has passed its first reading, with legislation reflecting its own policy if re-elected. 

Deportation also featured in NZ First’s plan to address “chronic overstayers”, citing Immigration New Zealand’s 2025 estimate that almost 21,000 people had overstayed their visas. 

National MP Erica Stanford is the coalition's Immigration Minister, a role New Zealand First wants if it is re-elected. Photo / Mark Mitchell 

The party would introduce a two-year amnesty for overstayers to self-deport and face no restrictions on applications to return. If they stayed beyond two years, overstayers would be deported and permanently ineligible for future visas. 

Noting the large portion of Pasifika overstayers and New Zealand’s relationships in the region, NZ First’s policy said it would allow for a two-year clemency period to enable applicants to remain in the country on a valid visa, which was available only to Pasifika people. 

The policy included a $200 million funding boost over four years for Immigration NZ, funded primarily from future operating allowances, to assist compliance resourcing. 

Several policies spoke to the value the party saw in being a citizen, adding to announced policies that would restrict voting and superannuation to citizens. 

Chief among them was allowing only children of citizens to be automatically entitled to citizenship at birth, changing current criteria that bestowed citizenship if one parent held a visa allowing them to reside in the country indefinitely. 

NZ First also wanted to increase the costs of attaining citizenship and permanent residency, as well as extend the qualifying period. 

Under the policies, the citizenship application cost would increase from $641 to $950, while permanent resident visa application costs would double to $630. It would return an estimated $8m-$10m in extra revenue, which the party would feed back into enforcement. 

The time needed to qualify for citizenship would be extended from five to 10 years, while an increase from two to five years would be applied to permanent resident applications, according to the policy. 

NZ First leader Winston Peters is discouraging people from immigrating to New Zealand if they don't want to contribute to the country. 

Social housing would be prioritised for citizens under the party’s plan, which would involve the Ministry of Social Development being directed to implement a framework that put citizens ahead of permanent residents when allocating housing placements. 

The party intended to ask New Zealanders through a referendum whether annual resident visa numbers should be capped at 20,000; its policy criticised the extent of visas granted under the previous Labour Government. 

According to the policy, the referendum would also include linking immigration settings directly to infrastructure capacity, stopping councils from being forced to accept central government planning if infrastructure didn’t support it and requiring population growth to occur where sufficient infrastructure already existed or was fully funded and scheduled. 

Non-citizens would face a welfare stand-down period of 10 years, going further than the five years proposed by Act. The party couldn’t provide an estimate of the potential reduction in benefit payments from the policy. 

The system governing people granted asylum would also be reformed, removing the ability to apply for permanent residence or citizenship and implementing a two-year, temporary residence permit with extensions considered case by case. 

Asylum claims from anyone on a working-class visa would also be denied, the party regarding such claims as illegitimate. 

The party also proposed several changes for student visa holders, requiring them to leave New Zealand and apply offshore if they wanted to transition to another visa, and removing automatic work rights. The party clarified existing agreements, including the India Free Trade Agreement which NZ First opposed, would be exempt from the latter policy. 

The party did not outline what legislation would require amending or what new laws were required to implement the policies, but intended to achieve them within the next term if re-elected. 

NZ First’s final “policy” was to demand the immigration portfolio, stating it was “imperative that an NZ First minister” holds the portfolio to “ensure the oversight, control and reform of the immigration system”. 

Winston Peters indicated he could be suitable to hold the immigration portfolio. Photo / Sylvie Whinray 

Speaking to the Herald, Peters indicated his interest in holding the portfolio when asked if he could do the job. 

“I think I can do the job. I was a lawyer and I understand immigration law.” 

While reluctant to criticise current Immigration Minister, National MP Erica Stanford, Peters said he wanted to be assured his policies were implemented correctly, noting the party didn’t want the portfolio for “50 years” but instead just “three years to prove our point”. 

Speaking on the policy platform more broadly, Peters said immigration policy was critical to a sound economy, highlighting the increasing value of citizenship. 

“If you don’t wish to abide by our law and salute our flag and respect the background of our country, then don’t come.” 

Adam Pearse is the Deputy Political Editor and part of the NZ Herald’s Press Gallery team based at Parliament in Wellington. He has worked for NZME since 2018, reporting for the Northern Advocate in Whangārei and the Herald in Auckland.