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What position, if any, has the Government taken on the proposed expansion of Five Eyes or Migration 5 data-sharing arrangements to include citizens’ criminal offending information?

Answered Question 31855 (2026)
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Asked by

Ricardo Menéndez March

List MP · Green Party

Question

  • What position, if any, has the Government taken on the proposed expansion of Five Eyes or Migration 5 data-sharing arrangements to include citizens’ criminal offending information?

Answered by

Hon Erica Stanford

Member for East Coast Bays · National Party · Minister of Immigration

Answer

As the Minister of Immigration I do not have any responsibility for New Zealand citizens. However, I am advised that NZ representative agencies on the Migration 5’s Criminal Data Checking project (MBIE, Ministry of Justice and NZ Police) concluded that there is no basis under current legislation for overseas agencies to have routine access to NZ Police biometric information and court criminal conviction information databases for immigration purposes. Migration 5 heads agreed to pause this work in April 2026.