6289 (2026). Ricardo Menéndez March to the Minister of Immigration

6289 (2026). Ricardo Menéndez March to the Minister of Immigration: Do Immigration New Zealand compliance officers currently have the power to request identity-based information from a person who may be liable for deportation; if so, under what provision do they state to be acting when exercising this power?

Hon Erica Stanford: I am advised that Compliance Officers currently only have the power under section 280 of the Immigration Act 2009 to request identity-based information if there is good cause to suspect a person is liable for deportation. I am proposing a narrow change to this section to change the "is" to "may be". This is designed to close a specific compliance gap. It broadens the situations where an immigration officer can request basic identity details — such as a person’s name, date of birth, or to sight an identity document — but only when the officer has good cause to suspect that the individual may be liable for deportation or in breach of immigration requirements. This change is intended to make an existing power workable.