Does the Minister intend for the Immigration (Enhanced Risk Management) Amendment Bill to enable Immigration New Zealand officers to exercise expanded information-gathering and enforcement powers in relation to persons who hold valid temporary visas but may be in breach of visa conditions, and if so, how?

Answer

Yes, the proposed changes to section 280 of the Immigration Act 2009 are intended to allow Immigration Officers to request identity-based information from someone they have good cause to suspect may be in breach or may have breached their visa conditions. Immigration Officers will only be able to use this power when they already have a legitimate reason to be at the site or premises and they have a reasonable basis, based on what they see at the time, that the person might be in breach/have breached their visa conditions. This requires a triggering behaviour of some kind from the person they encounter.