Refugee migration into New Zealand
Encyclopedia
This article describes the stance of New Zealand
towards migration of refugees in the past, present and the future. A refugee accepted into the country is granted permanent residency
and may apply for citizenship
. Although those seeking refuge know New Zealand for its openness, national security has become more important in response to global security. The upholding of individual human rights by the judiciary has come under scrutiny in the case of Ahmed Zaoui
. A comprehensive review of the immigration act by the New Zealand government was announced at the end of 2006. The resulting bill before parliament is expected to reduce rights of appeal to one tribunal and give more discretionary power to immigration officers.
Those granted refugee status prior to the UNHCR Convention were
New Zealand acceded to the UNHCR Convention in 1960, and refugee policy is based on the obligations that flow from that, namely to offer protection to refugees. The text is currently set out in the Sixth Schedule of the Immigration Act 1987. The immigration act is not a description of policy, but rather a framework for assessing and determining claims made by people in New Zealand seeking refugee status. This act is currently under review, and major changes to the appeal process and deportation are proposed.
Those granted refugee status post the signing of the UNHCR Convention were:
Each year New Zealand accepts 750 refugees as part of an agreement with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees
, whereby their status has been ‘mandated’ or authenticated by the UNHCR. New Zealand is one of fewer than 20 countries to offer a resettlement programme and has done so for more than 20 years. Even fewer countries make a commitment like New Zealand to reserving a place for women at risk, medical/disabled, and emergency protection cases within their quota. In doing so they offer a preferential option for those who are already marginalised and vulnerable, and the most difficult to place. For this New Zealand has gained international respect for its humanitarianism
.
In addition to this quota New Zealand receives spontaneous asylum-seekers, whose claim is then either approved or declined by the Refugee Status Branch of the Immigration New Zealand
, or by the Refugee Status Appeals Authority
. In 2005, 1,585 refugee status applications were received, but only 12.5% were found to be genuine http://www.rms.org.nz.
Refugees have also entered New Zealand in exception circumstances when requested by UNHCR. In 1999, in response to Kosovo
humanitarian crisis, New Zealand accepted over 400 Kosovars for resettlement who had family in New Zealand. Again in 2001, New Zealand accepted resettlement for 130 Afghan asylum-seekers picked up by the freighter, MS Tampa
, after their craft capsized in the Indian Ocean
.
, Hamilton
, Napier
, Wellington
, and Christchurch
.
The group of asylum seekers who apply for refugee status on shore are equally likely to be held either in prison or the resettlement centre http://subs.nzherald.co.nz/section/1/story.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10413683. If they are found to be genuine refugees they will be granted residence, then they are able to access Social welfare in New Zealand and other benefits provided by the state. However, assistance that addresses their specific needs as they attempt to integrate into New Zealand is limited.
A list of difficulties they may experience:
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
towards migration of refugees in the past, present and the future. A refugee accepted into the country is granted permanent residency
Permanent residency
Permanent residency refers to a person's visa status: the person is allowed to reside indefinitely within a country of which he or she is not a citizen. A person with such status is known as a permanent resident....
and may apply for citizenship
Citizenship
Citizenship is the state of being a citizen of a particular social, political, national, or human resource community. Citizenship status, under social contract theory, carries with it both rights and responsibilities...
. Although those seeking refuge know New Zealand for its openness, national security has become more important in response to global security. The upholding of individual human rights by the judiciary has come under scrutiny in the case of Ahmed Zaoui
Ahmed Zaoui
Ahmed Zaoui is an Algerian member of the Islamic Salvation Front. He arrived in New Zealand on 4 December 2002 where he sought refugee status. Objections from the Security Intelligence Service were withdrawn in September 2007, allowing him to remain in New Zealand.-Pre 1991:Ahmed Zaoui was born as...
. A comprehensive review of the immigration act by the New Zealand government was announced at the end of 2006. The resulting bill before parliament is expected to reduce rights of appeal to one tribunal and give more discretionary power to immigration officers.
Summary of NZ involvement in refugee resettlement
Even before the 1951 United Nations Convention was being adopted by member states, New Zealand accepted refugees.Those granted refugee status prior to the UNHCR Convention were
- 1100 Jewish refugees during the 1930s
- 837 Polish refugees, mostly children arrived in 1944
- 4,500 refugees from Europe between 1949 and 1952
New Zealand acceded to the UNHCR Convention in 1960, and refugee policy is based on the obligations that flow from that, namely to offer protection to refugees. The text is currently set out in the Sixth Schedule of the Immigration Act 1987. The immigration act is not a description of policy, but rather a framework for assessing and determining claims made by people in New Zealand seeking refugee status. This act is currently under review, and major changes to the appeal process and deportation are proposed.
Those granted refugee status post the signing of the UNHCR Convention were:
- Hungarian refugees following 1956 Hungarian revolutionHungarian RevolutionHungarian Revolution may refer to:* The Hungarian Revolution of 1848.* The Hungarian Revolution of 1919, which led to the formation of the Hungarian Soviet Republic headed by Béla Kun.* The Hungarian Revolution of 1956....
- Czechoslovaks from the 1968 Prague uprising
- Persecuted Chinese
- Asians fleeing Uganda in the 1970s
- Chileans fleeing General Pinochet in the 1970s
- Jews and East Europeans fleeing Soviet Union in the 1970s
- Those fleeing wars in Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos in the 1970s and 1980s
- Iran, Iraq, and Afghanistan arrive in 1990s
- Burma, Somalia, Ethiopia, Sri Lanka, Sudan and the former Yugoslavia in 1990s
- Since 2000, Burundi, Eritrea and Djibouti
Categories under which refugees are accepted into New Zealand
There are two pathways that refugees find their way into New Zealand. The first is a quota agreement with UNHCR. The second is by way of an onshore claim to refugee status made after arrival in New Zealand. The status is then confirmed under conventions.Each year New Zealand accepts 750 refugees as part of an agreement with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees
United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees
The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees , also known as The UN Refugee Agency is a United Nations agency mandated to protect and support refugees at the request of a government or the UN itself and assists in their voluntary repatriation, local integration or resettlement to...
, whereby their status has been ‘mandated’ or authenticated by the UNHCR. New Zealand is one of fewer than 20 countries to offer a resettlement programme and has done so for more than 20 years. Even fewer countries make a commitment like New Zealand to reserving a place for women at risk, medical/disabled, and emergency protection cases within their quota. In doing so they offer a preferential option for those who are already marginalised and vulnerable, and the most difficult to place. For this New Zealand has gained international respect for its humanitarianism
Humanitarianism
In its most general form, humanitarianism is an ethic of kindness, benevolence and sympathy extended universally and impartially to all human beings. Humanitarianism has been an evolving concept historically but universality is a common element in its evolution...
.
In addition to this quota New Zealand receives spontaneous asylum-seekers, whose claim is then either approved or declined by the Refugee Status Branch of the Immigration New Zealand
Immigration New Zealand
Immigration New Zealand or INZ is a part of the Workforce group of the New Zealand Department of Labour. It is responsible for managing the benefits and consequences of immigration to New Zealand.-Visa:...
, or by the Refugee Status Appeals Authority
Refugee Status Appeals Authority
The New Zealand Refugee Status Appeals Authority or RSAA, isan independent body which was set up to hear the appeals of people who have been declined refugee status by the Refugee Status Branch of the New Zealand Immigration Service....
. In 2005, 1,585 refugee status applications were received, but only 12.5% were found to be genuine http://www.rms.org.nz.
Refugees have also entered New Zealand in exception circumstances when requested by UNHCR. In 1999, in response to Kosovo
Kosovo
Kosovo is a region in southeastern Europe. Part of the Ottoman Empire for more than five centuries, later the Autonomous Province of Kosovo and Metohija within Serbia...
humanitarian crisis, New Zealand accepted over 400 Kosovars for resettlement who had family in New Zealand. Again in 2001, New Zealand accepted resettlement for 130 Afghan asylum-seekers picked up by the freighter, MS Tampa
MS Tampa
MS Tampa may refer to:, a diesel-powered ship in round-the-world cargo service for the American Pioneer Line; commissioned as USS Orvetta for the United States Navy during World War II, a Norwegian cargo ship built in 1984; involved in the Tampa affair in 2001...
, after their craft capsized in the Indian Ocean
Indian Ocean
The Indian Ocean is the third largest of the world's oceanic divisions, covering approximately 20% of the water on the Earth's surface. It is bounded on the north by the Indian Subcontinent and Arabian Peninsula ; on the west by eastern Africa; on the east by Indochina, the Sunda Islands, and...
.
Refugee resettlement
Those refugees arriving under the UNHCR quota, arrive in Auckland in groups of about 120, and stay for the first six weeks at the Mangere Refugee Resettlement Centre. They are offered a programme of residential orientation, and then move off to one of the five major resettlement areas, AucklandAuckland
The Auckland metropolitan area , in the North Island of New Zealand, is the largest and most populous urban area in the country with residents, percent of the country's population. Auckland also has the largest Polynesian population of any city in the world...
, Hamilton
Hamilton, New Zealand
Hamilton is the centre of New Zealand's fourth largest urban area, and Hamilton City is the country's fourth largest territorial authority. Hamilton is in the Waikato Region of the North Island, approximately south of Auckland...
, Napier
Napier, New Zealand
Napier is a New Zealand city with a seaport, located in Hawke's Bay on the eastern coast of the North Island. The population of Napier is about About 18 kilometres south of Napier is the inland city of Hastings. These two neighboring cities are often called "The Twin Cities" or "The Bay Cities"...
, Wellington
Wellington
Wellington is the capital city and third most populous urban area of New Zealand, although it is likely to have surpassed Christchurch due to the exodus following the Canterbury Earthquake. It is at the southwestern tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Rimutaka Range...
, and Christchurch
Christchurch
Christchurch is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand, and the country's second-largest urban area after Auckland. It lies one third of the way down the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula which itself, since 2006, lies within the formal limits of...
.
The group of asylum seekers who apply for refugee status on shore are equally likely to be held either in prison or the resettlement centre http://subs.nzherald.co.nz/section/1/story.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10413683. If they are found to be genuine refugees they will be granted residence, then they are able to access Social welfare in New Zealand and other benefits provided by the state. However, assistance that addresses their specific needs as they attempt to integrate into New Zealand is limited.
A list of difficulties they may experience:
- ongoing trauma and stress
- learning English as an additional language
- prejudice and overt racism in New Zealand
- non-recognition of qualifications from their home country
- inability to gain similar jobs they left in their home country
- lack of support structures within the local community
- Cultural shockCulture shockCulture shock is the anxiety, feelings of frustration, alienation and anger that may occur when a person is emplaced in a new culture.One of the most common causes of culture shock involves individuals in a foreign country. Culture shock can be described as consisting of one or more distinct phases...
- separation from family members