DOIA 2223 2953 Response Letter.pdf

17 July 2023

Wendy Yang

[FYI request #23160 email]                                          File No: DOIA 2223-2953

Dear Ms Yang,

I refer to your request under the Official Information Act 1982 (the Act) received on 16 June 2023
requesting the following information from the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment
(Ministry):

•  Please provide the overall data on the number of overstayers and the age distribution,
separated by gender.
•  Please provide the data on the number of overstayers from China and the age distribution,
separated by gender.
•  Please provide information on the regions in China from which the overstayers originate,
along with the respective numbers of overstayers in each region, separated by gender and
age groups.
•  Please provide the data for each year between 2018 and 2023 regarding the questions
below, including the male-to-female ratio and the age distribution: - How many Chinese
overstayers obtained visas through a partnership with New Zealanders under section 61? -
How many Chinese overstayers obtained visas through Ministerial Intervention (special
direction) based on a partnership with New Zealanders?

Our Response

The Ministry are able to provide responses for points one – three with this letter.

1)  Please provide the overall data on the number of overstayers and the age distribution,
separated by gender.

This part of your request is being refused under section 18(f) of the Act because the information
requested cannot be made available without substantial col ation. However, the most recent
estimate completed by the Ministry was in December 2017, it was estimated that there were
approximately 14,000 people living unlawfully in New Zealand at that time.

Immigration New Zealand took a sample of approximately 2,000 people from the data set and
manually checked each client record to establish which clients were living in New Zealand
unlawfully. This proportion was then applied to the overall data set to get an estimate of the total
number of people living in New Zealand unlawfully. This sample exercise was last taken in 2017.

Work is currently underway to establish an updated estimate for people living unlawfully in New
Zealand, which is expected to include 2023 data.

The age distribution for the 2017 estimate is as follows:
  Age
Number of individuals
0 – 4 years
105
5 – 17 years
908
18 – 24 years
1,535
25 – 34 years
3,525
35 – 44 years
2,897
45 – 64 years
3,631
65 – 84 years
1,209
85 and over
93

2)  Please provide the data on the number of overstayers from China and the age distribution,
separated by gender.

We are unable to provide you with a breakdown by gender as your request would involve the
collation of a substantial volume of data which would then require verification of each client record
to confirm if it falls within the scope of your request. This part of your request is therefore being
refused under section 18(f) of the Act. However, in the 2017 estimate there were 1,529 Chinese
nationals identified as living unlawfully in New Zealand.

3)  Please provide information on the regions in China from which the overstayers originate,
along with the respective numbers of overstayers in each region, separated by gender and
age groups.

We are unable to provide you with a breakdown by gender as your request would involve the
collation of a substantial volume of data which would then require verification of each client record
to confirm if it falls within the scope of your request. This part of your request is therefore being
refused under section 18(f) of the Act.

4)  Please provide the data for each year between 2018 and 2023 regarding the questions
below, including the male-to-female ratio and the age distribution: - How many Chinese
overstayers obtained visas through a partnership with New Zealanders under section 61? –
How many Chinese overstayers obtained visas through Ministerial Intervention (special
direction) based on a partnership with New Zealanders?

It wil  take us some time to prepare information for point four of your request for release. Therefore,
the Ministry has decided to extend the period of time available to respond to this part of your
request under section 15A(1)(a) of the Act, as the request necessitates a search through a large
quantity of information and meeting the original time limit would unreasonably interfere with the
operations of the Ministry. You can now expect a further response to your request on or before 31
July 2023.

You have the right to seek an investigation and review of my response by the Ombudsman, whose
address for contact purposes is:

The Ombudsman
Office of the Ombudsman
P O Box 10-152
WELLINGTON

If you wish to discuss any aspect of your request or this response, please contact
[email address].

Yours sincerely,

Richard Owen
General Manager – Immigration Risk and Border
Immigration New Zealand
Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment