Can ‘qualified amnesty’ for overstaying immigrants be an option?

The recent reporting by 1NEWS of about 10,000 foreigners living in the country unlawfully rightly raises some concerns.

The report states that taxpayers spent $1.7 million last year on airfares and escorts to deport overstayers - more than in any of the last five years.

It further states that overstayers must repay those costs to be allowed to reenter, but less than 10 per cent of that $1.7m was recovered last year – signifying the gravity of the problem.

Indeed, concerns within Kiwi-Indian community would also be as vivid as within the rest of the country.

For overstayers inadvertently ends up imposing a cost on the country – both economic and social cost.

However, before you conclude that we are amidst the worst of the problem of overstayers and its related cost on New Zealand, I must disappoint you by saying that there has been an improvement in the situation instead.

In 2013 there were more than 14,044 people living in New Zealand illegally, as was told to then NZ First MP Denis O'Rourke by the then Immigration Minister Michael Woodhouse.

Regardless of this, dealing with illegal immigrants, overstayers, also sometimes referred to as undocumented workers, is costly to the taxpayers.

The concern with law-abiding citizens in New Zealand, including the Kiwi-Indian community, is the bad impression it gives to those who are here with valid documents. It also makes a mockery of workers who pay their shares of taxes to the government, and are competing with illegal workers, who are paid largely in cash and pay no tax.

INZ needs to address the problem with the limited resources they have, and no doubt the task is daunting given their limited resources.

It is being expected that a newer regulation, coming into force from June 2018, whereby Immigration NZ(INZ) and Police will share data, allowing police to tell in real time the immigration status of people they're dealing with on the beat, would be helpful to address the concern.

However, this alone would not be sufficient to address the problem.

Who are overstayers?

There must be a distinction made between criminals who enter NZ, commit crimes and overstay with those who overstay for various other non-criminal offending. Convicted criminal overstayers must be dealt with severely, deported and not allowed to re-enter NZ.

Besides knowing from reports that the overstayers are largely from the Pacific, China and India, there is no other information about them. Who are they? Do they have criminal records? Do they pose health concerns including mental health? Have some of them been cheated by unscrupulous foreign and local agents, passports held against their will by employers, family members or relatives? Are there other factors leaving the overstayer no way out and nowhere to go? Are there any disabled people in this category, orphaned children, pregnant mothers with hardship issues?

In February this year, it was reported that Operation Spectrum carried out by INZ resulted in 54 Malaysian nationals being deported. In addition, a further 36 chose to self-deport to avoid apprehending and detection. A total of 85 people were refused entry to New Zealand or denied boarding.

Recently Immigration Minister Iain Lees-Galloway had said that legal migrant workers were "very, very vulnerable" and did not receive enough protection if they blew the whistle on exploitative employers.

Now the Minister says this about ‘legal workers’ being vulnerable, imagine what it would be like for the ‘overstayers’ working illegally.

Then, there is also the blame game. In reports, The New Zealand Association for Migration and Investment (NZAMI) says INZ is to blame for the high number of temporary migrants becoming overstayers.

"We are finding that many applicants are finding themselves in an unlawful situation due to the processing practice by INZ," said association Chair June Ranson. 

She says the length of time the agency takes to process visas and the interim visa did not give allowance for applicants to appeal when an application gets declined.

“They then become liable for deportation" Ms Ranson asserts. 

What is qualified amnesty?

Whatever the reasons are, one way of handling is to grant a qualified amnesty.

When I mean qualified, I mean with conditions imposed.

Overstayers, without fear, should be able to call or come into special task force set up to plead their case with absolute confidence that they will be given due process.

Once you have them come in, then NZIS will have all the facts before them to deal with cases which can be resolved by the overstayer departing voluntarily without incurring further cost or risk of being arrested and deported.

This would not only save cost and taxpayer’s money, but it will also be able to identify genuine cases, document them, legalise where appropriate, giving enough time for them to return to their home country.

One option is allowing the overstayer to be sponsored by a local family, friend, potential employer who in turn be made responsible for all their financial needs including the flight home, health and other cost associated with the overstayer. 

Here is where the community can get involved in assisting, without the taxpayer footing the cost.

Dave Ananth is an Auckland based Tax Barrister. The views expressed above are his own.