Deportation and human rights

Deportation liability can arise for temporary and permanent resident visa holders in New Zealand. Deportation may be triggered for a variety of reasons, including criminal convictions, misleading or fraudulent information, passport fraud, false identification, or domestic violence matters. A person is normally eligible to file a humanitarian appeal against liability for deportation with the Immigration and Protection Tribunal. A broad range of factors may be considered as part of your humanitarian appeal. Certain humanitarian convention rights hold more significant weight than others. Each case must be assessed to determine the relevant facts and the best strategy to be applied to achieve a successful deportation appeal.

If the Tribunal declines your appeal, you may be eligible to file an appeal against that decision in the High Court.

In those cases where a criminal conviction has triggered deportation liability for a person, it may be worth considering whether the conviction can be appealed and quashed. A successful appeal of a criminal conviction may bring the deportation liability to an end automatically.

If the Department of Immigration has declined your residence application, you may be eligible to file an appeal against that decision with the Immigration and Protection Tribunal. In addition to the appeal, you may also be eligible to include a second appeal which is focused on a person’s “special circumstances”. These appeals may result in the Tribunal making recommendations to the Department of Immigration or could result in a recommendation to the Minister of Immigration to grant the person residence.

Immigration has the power to arrest and detain persons who are unlawful in the country. You may be eligible to apply to the Court and seek an order for your release (which would normally include conditions). These applications to the Court are normally complex and urgent. They predominantly focus on the risk that a person (if released) may evade detection. The timeframe for making these applications to the Court is usually very short (1 – 5 days), as the Department of Immigration will normally arrange for departing flights and travel documents at the same time as they detain that person.

It is a legal requirement that all overseas persons working and living in New Zealand must maintain a valid visa. Depending on a person’s circumstances, temporary visa applications may relate to visitor, study or work. This can then lead to more permanent applications or residence later. Complex issues may arise relating to a person’s character (criminal history) or medical issues. These matters will require special attention and focused legal submissions to help achieve a successful outcome.

Business and investment visas can be complex and require specialised legal assistance. Identifying suitable investments or business opportunities need to be carefully considered against immigration policy. The timing and method of transferring international funds into New Zealand may also be complex. The range of business and investment options vary considerably and ought to be carefully considered before taking the first step. Focusing on the important groundwork at the start of the process will help achieve a successful outcome.

Interpol is an international criminal policing organisation which facilitates worldwide police co-operation. As part of its role, it issues red notice alerts against persons who may be wanted in another country for investigation or criminal charges. There are many cases of countries misusing the alert notice system in order to extradite persons back to a particular country.

If you have a red notice alert issued against you, there are steps you may take to appeal and seek the removal of a red notice against your name.

The appeals are directed towards the commission for the control of Interpol which is located in Lyon, France. The predominant focus of an appeal is to determine whether the red notice violates Article 2 of Interpol’s constitution that requires Interpol to act within the spirit of the universal declaration of human rights.

Any appeal in this area requires our lawyers to engage with lawyers from overseas jurisdictions to determine whether there are such breaches and then provide legal submissions seeking the removal of the red notice. Call us today.