New Zealand First is wanting to make sweeping changes to the country’s immigration laws.
The party unveiled over a dozen new policies on Friday ahead of November’s general election.
NZ First policies
- Restrict birthright citizenship, so only the children of citizens are automatically entitled to New Zealand citizenship at birth
- Double qualifying periods for attaining citizenship or permanent residence, from five to 10 years
- Increase application fees for citizenship and permanent residence “to reflect its value and to better fund the wider immigration system”
- Prevent asylum seekers who have applied for a work visa while in New Zealand from being eligible
- Prevent asylum seekers from using temporary work rights while their claim is being assessed
- Make all visa holders ineligible from claiming jobseeker, accommodation supplement, or any other benefits during their first 10 years
- Deport overstayers who have been in New Zealand illegally, and prevent them from ever being able to apply for another New Zealand visa
- Give Pacific Island overstayers two years to apply to remain in New Zealand legally on a valid visa
- Student Visa holders would not have automatic work rights after completion of their studies, and would be required to leave the country before being able to apply for another visa
- Citizens would be prioritised for social housing
- A 30-year population plan to coordinate immigration, housing and infrastructure planning
- Hold a referendum on capping resident visas at 20,000 a year
The proposed resident visa cap would require infrastructure to exist or be fully funded and scheduled for delivery before major population growth could occur.
Councils would also have more freedom in planning, a move that would appear to override some of the settings in the reforms to the Resource Management Act progressed by the coalition this term.
Speaking at the annual Immigration Conference in Auckland on Friday, NZ First leader Winston Peters said population growth should not outpace an ability to build the country.
“New Zealand First will substantially reduce non-essential immigration and restore the principle that immigration is a privilege, not a right,” he said.
“New Zealand is more than an economy. It is a nation with its own history, institutions and way of life. Immigration policy should strengthen social cohesion and encourage integration into a shared national community.”
He rallied against what he said was “unfettered immigration being used as a crutch for the economy and the failing workforce that’s planning for our people that’s going on”.
He said when NZ First was in government with Labour immigration had been cut back.
“In the same way, it is happening in the UK, Europe, USA and more recently in Australia … in 2021, when we were no longer part of the government, the Labour government’s feet became totally off the brakes.”
He said National and ACT had said “nothing about it at all” until “just seven weeks out from the next election”.
National and ACT in 2023 both campaigned on streamlining the immigration system to target high-skilled workers.
Peters said it would be “imperative” for NZ First to hold the Immigration portfolio “to ensure the oversight, control and reform of the immigration system”.
“We need immigration to New Zealand. We always have. It has been an essential part of our history, and the first people that came to this country, namely the Māori, were immigrants themselves – otherwise where is this famous place called Hawaiki that we came from?
“This should be smart, controlled immigration policy, bringing in immigrants who we need, not who need us.
“Other politicians perversely say diversity is strength, to shut you down, but it is not. Unity is strength, not diversity.”
The immigration spokespeople for National, Labour and the Greens all criticised calls to restrict immigration.
National’s Erica Stanford said parties doing so needed to explain who would be turned away – with nearly half of primary applications based on partnership visas, and nearly as many again on filling skills shortages.
Labour’s Phil Twyford said New Zealand could not follow Europe and the United States “down a path of division and scapegoating” and needed to maintain sensible, pro-immigration policies while holding onto public confidence.
The Greens’ Ricardo Menendez March said New Zealand’s problems of low wages and a tax system that targeted work rather than wealth were not caused by migrants, and dog-whistling about getting tough on immigration was just politicians looking for problems.
