New Zealand is taking the message to India that migrants should follow the correct path to enter the country, following a record spike in asylum claims from the subcontinent over the past two years.
The total number of asylum and refugee claims from India rose from 69 in 2022 to 1,079 in 2024.
In comparison, the total number of asylum and refugee claims received by Immigration New Zealand from many countries rose to 2,396 in 2024, up from 358 in 2022.
Also Read: ‘Coached’ Refugee Claims Impacting Visitors From India: Experts
At a recent Education and Workforce Committee meeting on June 17, 2025 — during the second session, which included MBIE Chief Executive Carolyn Tremain and Associate Immigration Minister Casey Costello among other officials, Carolyn Tremain pointed out that one of the operational measures being taken to check those entering the country without proper processes, is to “identify people in the queues at the port of embarkation to New Zealand to actually stop them boarding and arriving here.”
Associate Immigration Minister Casey Costello and MBIE Chief Executive
Carolyn Tremain
Tremain was responding to a second query on asylum claims by Labour’s immigration spokesperson Phil Twyford about what measures the government was taking in light of the spike in asylum applications.
Associate Immigration Minister Casey Costello had initially pointed out 
that immigration is facing the broader challenge of global displacement.
“There is a lot of displacement around the world and there's a lot of attractiveness to move and use any lever one can to get through,” she said. “I think we are doing a lot of work in every way we can.”
However, Twyford noted that the biggest increases in applications are coming from South Asia.
“That's not people [who] are fleeing war, genocide. There it's not geopolitical instability,” he said.
He pointed out that the Indian subcontinent, India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh in particular, the major increase in asylum claims is from that region.
“It's India, Pakistan, Bangladesh with the still really big numbers coming in.”
Costello responded by saying that New Zealand is working with these countries, informing them about the proper immigration processes, while also not ignoring those who may be potential economic refugees.
Responding to the same query, Tremain said, "Often we find that they're coming in on visitor visas, and one of the things that we have been doing is trying to identify people in the queues at the Port of Embarkation to New Zealand to actually stop them boarding and arriving here.”
“We have reinforced our connections offshore," she added, among other measures.
Tremain also mentioned that Deputy Secretary of Immigration Alison McDonald, along with other immigration officials, had visited India earlier this year.
She added that several overseas trips are planned, including to China and other countries, to reinforce the message.
This also includes, as she put it, “messages about people coming in lawfully into New Zealand on the appropriate visa.”
The committee, which discussed a range of immigration topics, was in its second session with Costello following an earlier session with Immigration Minister Erica Stanford.
During an earlier part of the same meeting, Labour MP Phil Twyford raised a question about the “ramped-up” number of asylum seekers.
“Asylum seeker numbers—I see that processing has ramped up. I think a 1,000 [is] likely to be processed over the 12-month period, but that's still half the number of applications that are coming in,” Twyford said. “The rate of the number of applications coming in hasn't gone down, I think, within 10 months,” he added.
Costello responded that there has been a lot of work to address where those asylum claims are coming from.
“There has been a slight shift in terms of the number of applications that are coming through for asylum claims,” she said.
“The processing of those claims is speeding up as well, which I think is sending a stronger message.”
The Indian Weekender reported on February 5, 2025, that immigration experts were concerned a surge in refugee claims over the last two years could significantly lower the chances for Indians to secure a visitor visa to New Zealand.
In 2023–2024, the number of people seeking asylum in New Zealand (2,345) was five times higher than the yearly average since 2014–2015. India topped the surge in asylum seekers last year, accounting for nearly half of all applications.
The number of refugee applications from India rose nearly 20 times above the yearly average since 2015. The sharp increase drew the attention of immigration officials. In a cabinet note published in September 2024, Immigration Minister Erica Stanford called out suspicious asylum claims.
Also read: Spike In Refugee Claims From India Threatens Reputation
“The recent increase in asylum claims has been characterised by many individuals submitting immediately before, or just after the expiry of their existing visa, and there is evidence of applicants being ‘coached’, based on the similarities between asylum claims.”
As reported in February, immigration officials said the refugee surge hasn’t impacted how they process general visa applications from India. However, immigration advisers The Indian Weekender spoke to noted that the sharp rise may be contributing to a decline in visitor visa approval rates, raising concerns about the unintended consequences of asylum trends on legitimate travellers.
This article is an exclusive by The Indian Weekender.
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