Good character
To grant you a New Zealand visa, Immigration New Zealand (INZ) needs to be assured that you and any family included in your application are of good character. This requirement is to protect the well being and security of New Zealanders.
Under sections 15 and 16 of the Immigration Act INZ will not grant you a visa if:
• you have been convicted and sentenced to imprisonment for 5 years or more (this applies even if any of your offences have later been taken off the record)
• in the past 10 years you were convicted and sentenced to imprisonment for 12 months or more
• you are subject to a period of prohibition on entry to New Zealand under section 179 or 180 of the Immigration Act 2009
• you have been deported or removed from New Zealand under any enactment (whether before or after the commencement of the Immigration Act 2009)
• you are excluded from New Zealand under any enactment
• you have, at any time, been removed, excluded, or deported from another country
• you have been involved in terrorist activities, or belonged to or supported any organisation involved in terrorist activities
• it is believed you are likely to commit – or to assist others to commit – criminal or drug offences, or an act of terrorism, in New Zealand
• it is believed you are likely – due to any international circumstances – to be a danger to New Zealand’s security or public order
• it is believed you are associated with an organisation or group that has criminal objectives or is engaged in criminal activities and for that – or any other reason – you’re considered • to be a threat to the public interest or public order of New Zealand.
INZ carries out character checks on everyone 17 years or over included in residence applications or applying for temporary entry for 24 months or longer. INZ may also undertake a character check on anyone else that it considers may not meet its character requirements.
Providing evidence of good character
If you are coming to New Zealand for 24 months or longer you’ll have to provide police certificates as evidence of your good character. INZ needs to see certificates for:
• everyone 17 years and over included in your application for residence
• everyone 17 years and over included in your application for a temporary visa for 24 months or longer.
INZ needs certificates from:
• your country of citizenship (unless you can prove you never lived there)
and
if you are applying for residence:
• any country you have been in for 12 months or more in the last 10 years, whether in one or more visits. If you are already in New Zealand, for example, under the Work to Residence category, this includes obtaining a police certificate from the New Zealand police,
or
if you are applying for a temporary entry visa:
• any country you’ve lived in for 5 or more years since turning 17.
How to obtain a police certificate
Procedures
Applicants for visas must be of good character. You may have to supply a police certificate (or similar) as evidence of good character, depending on which category you apply under.
Police certificates must be less than six months old when the application is lodged.
INZ may ask for further police certificates if the initial police certificate becomes a year old from its date of issue before it makes a decision on your application; or within the 12-month period if there is good reason to do so.
Police authorities in some countries will only send the certificate direct to Immigration New Zealand. In such cases you are recommended to request your police certificate three months before you lodge your application for a residence class visa. INZ also recommends that you provide it with a copy of the receipt for the requested police certificate (if this is available) to help them to track your certificate.
Residence
• All applicants aged 17 years or over must provide police certificates at the time a residence application is lodged unless there is a different instruction in the country-specific information (see below).
• If you have lived for periods of 12 months or more in any other countries during the last ten years, you must also provide police certificates from these countries, and also your country (or countries) of citizenship.
Supporting New Zealand partners for residence class visas under the partnership category
• The New Zealand partners of people applying for residence under the partnership category must provide certificates at the time a residence class visa application is lodged, unless there is a different instruction in the country-specific information (see below).
• New Zealand partners must provide police certificates for every country where they have lived for 12 months or more in the last seven years. (If you have lived in New Zealand for 12 months or more, Immigration New Zealand will obtain the New Zealand police certificate directly.)
• Police certificates for the New Zealand partner must be less than six months old at the time the applicant lodges their residence class visa application.
Supporting New Zealand partners for residence class visas under the partnership category
Temporary entry visa
• All applicants aged 17 years or over who are working, visiting, or studying in New Zealand for 24 months or longer must provide a police certificate.
• The police certificate is to be provided at the time you lodge your application, unless there is a different instruction in the country-specific information (see below).
• Applicants must supply a police certificate from any country in which they have lived for five years or more since attaining the age of 17 years as well as their country (or countries) of citizenship.
If police certificates are unavailable
If you cannot get a police certificate, provide INZ with detailed information of your attempts to get one. If they are satisfied that police certificates are not available or it would be unduly difficult for you to get them (for example where the authorities of any such country will not generally provide such certificates), they may instead ask you to make and provide a separate statutory declaration in both English and your own language.
If a statutory declaration is required, it must detail your attempts to obtain a police certificate and state whether or not you, or any accompanying family members, have been found guilty or convicted of, or charged with offences against the law in that country. The statutory declaration should also be corroborated by other information attesting to your character.
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Operation Manual – Full wording of immigration instructions are available in INZ’s Operation Manual.