Refugees are people who cannot return to their home country because they have a well-founded fear of being persecuted due to their religion, race, nationality, membership of a particular social group, or political opinion. Refugee and protection claimants, also often referred to as asylum seekers, are people:

• who have left their home country and are seeking protection in another country because they fear persecution, but
• whose need for protection is yet to be determined by a competent authority.

New Zealand is a party to the 1951 Convention Relating to the Status of Refugee and its 1967 Protocol, the 1984 Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment and the 1966 International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.

Refugee Quota Programme

New Zealand has a long and proud history of helping people whose lives are at risk and are forced to flee their country. New Zealand’s Refugee Quota Programme accepts 1,500 refugees each year. Every 3 years the Government makes decisions on the makeup of the Refugee Quota Programme. Each year, the Ministers of Immigration and Foreign Affairs allocate 200 places for resettlement from large scale emergencies. This allocation is within our annual quota of 1,500. In 2024/25 New Zealand will resettle 100 Syrian refugees and 100 Rohingya refugees.

Refugees are identified for resettlement by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugee (UNHCR) according to internationally accepted guidelines that take into account physical and legal protection needs, as well as family reunification.

Refugee cases are submitted for consideration to be accepted under New Zealand’s agreed annual resettlement plan. Immigration New Zealand (INZ) is only able to consider the case of a refugee for resettlement under the refugee quota following a formal referral by UNHCR.

Refugee Family Support Category (RFSC)

The Refugee Family Support Category (RFSC) enables people to sponsor a family member and that person's partner and dependent children for New Zealand residence.

For someone to be able to sponsor under the RFSC, they must be granted residence either:

• as a refugee or protected person
• as an Afghan interpreter, or
• under the Afghan Emergency resettlement category.

Each year there are 600 places available.

Refugee and protection status

Refugee or protection status can be claimed on arrival at a New Zealand airport or port or later after arriving in New Zealand. 

Most people who claim asylum in New Zealand arrive in the country on valid visas or are issued visas on arrival and live in the community. A very small number of people claim asylum on arrival at New Zealand’s borders. Claimants have a right to contact a lawyer, may be eligible for legal aid funding for legal representation for their claim, and are provided with an interpreter for their interview.

Asylum claimants may be eligible for a work or other temporary visa while they wait for the outcome of their claim. They are eligible for publicly funded healthcare, and their children may attend school. They may also be eligible for welfare support.

Privacy obligations

The identity and details of refugee and protection claimants or asylum claimants and their claims are confidential under section 151 of the Immigration Act 2009. It is an offence to disclose this information outside the exceptions set out in section 151(2).

The refugee and protection claim process

Refugee and Protection officers (RPOs) in INZ’s Refugee Status Unit decide all refugee or protection status claims in the first instance. It is a shared inquiry, where the claimant is responsible for establishing their claim, and the RPO may also determine the relevant facts, including assessing credibility. The RPO then determines the risk of the person being persecuted in their country of nationality or otherwise suffering cruel treatment if deported. If the RPO approves the claim, the person is recognised as a refugee or protected person.

If the RPO declines the claim, the person can appeal to the independent Immigration and Protection Tribunal (the Tribunal) who will hear the claim afresh.

The Refugee Status Unit also decides whether a person’s refugee or protected person status should be cancelled. This can be because it was obtained through fraud, or if a person no longer needs to be protected because of changes in their country’s circumstances, or when a refugee has committed serious crimes and poses a risk to the community. These decisions can also be appealed to the Tribunal.

Refugees and protected persons can apply for permanent residence following recognition by an RPO or the Tribunal and New Zealand citizenship after 5 years of residence. They are also eligible to access employment, income support, and public health services, the same as New Zealand residents or citizens.

Supporting refugees and asylum seekers

Review of practices relating to the detention of asylum claimants

In June 2021 INZ commissioned an independent review by Victoria Casey KC. The review assessed the operational practices relating to the restriction of freedom of movement, including the detention of people claiming asylum, and is specific to people who claim asylum at the border or those who claim when detained for the purposes of deportation.

The recommendations from the review focused on:

• the inappropriateness of the use of Police and Corrections facilities to detain asylum seekers
• the need for better guidance on the systems and processes INZ staff use when considering the potential detention of asylum seekers
• the need to review INZ processes and legislation to ensure they are consistent with New Zealand's human rights obligations.

The full report is available on the Ministry of Business Innovation and Enterprise website: 

INZ accepts review recommendations relating to the detention of asylum seekers