Immigration NZ tries to deport man with visa
Twists in strange case include Beehive access to file
Immigration officials bungled visa details of a man whose marriage to a “high-profile” Kiwi had fallen apart, leaving him facing the prospect of immediate deportation.
The strange case of “Immigrant X” has seen Immigration NZ deny any records relating to the attempted deportation exist even though one of its officials turned up to serve a Deportation Liability Notice with two police officers to arrest the man. Only intervention by immigration-law specialist Deborah Manning halted the plan to put him on a plane out of the country.
Immigrant X came to New Zealand five years ago with his high-profile partner of 10 years and their three children.
His immigration status came into question after his partner ended the relationship and made multiple complaints to police alleging physical — and later sexual — violence.
None of the parties can be named because they remain locked in a Family Court dispute over his access to their children and rights to relationship property.
The attempted deportation came in June 2017 when the man was seeking a discharge without conviction on a charge of assault and three breaches of a protection order after court hearings on complaints made by his expartner. He was acquitted of charges brought by his wife, including a claim of rape.
Manning said she was at the Hamilton court for the hearing as she had provided an affidavit explaining his immigration status. When she saw an Immigration NZ compliance officer enter the court with two police officers, she approached the compliance officer. When told he was there to serve a legal order for deportation, Manning said she explained her client had a valid visa to allow Family Court proceedings to be heard. The compliance officer refused to provide a copy of the legal order, a Deportation Liability Notice, “did not care about her opinion” and “did not have to explain himself”, she said.
Documents show Manning sought an urgent High Court hearing to put a halt to it and called the official’s boss. Having contacted the manager, it was discovered Immigration NZ was basing its deportation on an incorrect understanding of Immigrant X’s immigration status. Manning was told Immigration NZ had believed his visa, with months left to run, was to attend criminal court and not Family Court.
Manning has now sought intervention by associate Minister of Immigration Kris Faafoi because of concerns over handling of the case. In a letter to Faafoi, she said the Immigration NZ compliance officer was acting in an “unlawful” way. She said “individuals cannot be arrested, detained and deported without proper paperwork or legal authority”.
She had since sought through the Privacy Act copies of information relating to the Deportation Liability Notice, only to be told no such legal order had been created and no paperwork existed.
Immigration NZ compliance and border manager Peter Devoy said the compliance officer was unaware Immigrant X had a valid visa for Family Court issues. The official had gone to court to serve a Deportation Liability Notice which had not yet been fully completed. It had been drafted on a pad used by compliance officers who were out of the office, but had yet to be “authorised” by the official.
He said it “was not completed” after Manning provided further information. As a result, it was considered to have no legal force or to have ever been created.
Devoy said if Manning had not been present, Immigrant X would have been taken into custody. However, the process allowed for a lawyer to be called which would have alerted Immigration NZ officials to the valid visa and halted the deportation.
A police spokeswoman said officers were present because they had been asked to help with a Deportation Liability Notice. At court, they were told they were not required.
Information seen by the Herald shows police and Immigration NZ exchanged case information. Documents show police made immigrationrelated inquiries about the man and passed information learned to his former partner.
Documents also show his former partner passed on the name and phone number of a high-ranking National Party official, asking the person be contacted about the case.
A complaint to the Independent Police Conduct Authority over the communication was knocked back. Complaints about contact with Immigration NZ were also rejected.
The IPCA told police that officers should apologise for making inquiries at the man’s work. The man was released from his job soon after.
The IPCA found an apology also should have been made about “inappropriate comments” about the man while speaking to one of his lawyers.
Data obtained by Manning showed Immigrant X’s Immigration NZ file had been accessed by a Beehive staffer 243 times in nine months. The staffer was a close aide to former associate Immigration Minister Scott Simpson.
Asked about the Beehive access of the file, an Immigration NZ official said the high profile of the man’s ex-partner required access as a result of media queries. A search of media archives found no stories about the case.
Simpson said the number of times the file was accessed “surprises me”. He said he did not recall the case details.
Immigrant X’s file was accessed by a Beehive staffer 243 times in nine months.