17 October 2023
G Sharma
[FYI request #24201 email]
File No: DOIA 2324-0653
Dear G Sharma,
I refer to your request under the Official Information Act 1982 (the Act) received on 21 September
2023 requesting the following information from the Ministry of Business, Innovation and
Employment (Ministry):
“I would like to request the detailed data on visitor visa holders (for tourism purpose) who
have been refused entry to New Zealand either at one of the New Zealand's Airport or at the
port of entry/stop over, categorized by their nationality along with reason of refusal.
Further I would like this Data to be separated out for every month starting from September
2022
Further I would request for the data of top 5 nationalities who were refused entry to New
Zealand on their visitor visa from September 2022 with a corresponding percentage of
successful entry permission to visitor visa holders during the same time period.”
Our Response
Appendix one contains data on the number of visitor visa holders who were refused entry to New
Zealand between 22 September 2022 and 21 September 2023. The data includes individuals who
held a visitor visa prior to travel and those travelling under a visa waiver.
Those nationalities with five or less recorded have had that number withheld under section 9(2)(a)
of the Act in order to protect the privacy of those individuals as they could be identifiable should the
number be released.
An individual can be refused boarding or entry if they do not meet the requirements of their visa or
entry permission at the time of travel. A more detailed breakdown of the reasons for refusal for this
period are not readily available from the data and would require substantial collation. Therefore 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 manual research and collation.
In accordance with section 18A of the Act we have considered whether fixing a charge would assist
with answering your request however it is our opinion that it would not. In accordance with section
18A(b) of the Act we have considered whether extending the timeframe to respond to your request
would assist with answering your request however it is our opinion that it would not.
Data relating to visitor visa holders travelling for tourism purposes is unable to be distinguished from
the other permitted types of visits in the data available. Therefore this part of your request is
refused under section 18(e) of the Act as the information does not exist/cannot be found.
The top five nationalities refused entry to New Zealand who were travelling on a visitor visa between
22 September 2022 and 21 September 2023 were; India, China, Brazil, Malaysia and Nepal. During
this time period 99.85% of visitors were not refused entry.
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
