Immigration Act 2009

Part 1 Preliminary provisions

3 Purpose

(1)

The purpose of this Act is to manage immigration in a way that balances the national interest, as determined by the Crown, and the rights of individuals.

(2)

To achieve this purpose, the Act establishes an immigration system that—

(a)

requires persons who are not New Zealand citizens to—

(i)

hold a visa to travel to New Zealand; and

(ii)

hold a visa and be granted entry permission to stay in New Zealand; and

(b)

provides for the development of immigration instructions (which set rules and criteria for the grant of visas and entry permission) to meet objectives determined by the Minister, which may include objectives such as—

(i)

contributing to the New Zealand workforce through facilitating access to skills and labour; and

(ii)

supporting families; and

(c)

allows for the management of persons crossing the border by setting requirements that apply to—

(i)

persons arriving, or intending to arrive, in New Zealand; and

(ii)

persons departing, or intending to depart, from New Zealand; and

(d)

provides a process for implementing specified immigration-related international obligations; and

(e)

includes mechanisms to ensure that those who engage with the immigration system comply with its requirements, including mechanisms that—

(i)

enable immigration officers to gather information in relation to visa holders, employers, and education providers to determine compliance with obligations in respect of the system; and

(ii)

prescribe the system for the deportation of people who are not New Zealand citizens and who fail to comply with immigration requirements, commit criminal offences, or are considered to pose a threat or risk to security; and

(f)

establishes a specialist tribunal to consider appeals against decisions made under this Act and to consider humanitarian appeals; and

(g)

supports the settlement of migrants, refugees, and protected persons; and

(h)

enables a levy to be charged to fund, or contribute to the funding of, costs associated with conservation or tourism.

Section 3(2)(c): replaced, on 28 September 2017, by section 266 of the Intelligence and Security Act 2017 (2017 No 10).

Section 3(2)(h): inserted, on 1 July 2019, by section 4 of the Immigration (International Visitor Conservation and Tourism Levy) Amendment Act 2019 (2019 No 24).