31855 (2026). Ricardo Menéndez March to the Minister of Immigration

Written Question

Published date: 29 Jul 2026

Metadata

Document type:	Written Question
Parliament number:	54
Question number:	31855 (2026)
Question asked:	13 Jul 2026
Member asking:	Ricardo Menéndez March
Portfolio:	Minister of Immigration
Minister replying:	Hon Erica Stanford
Answer received:	23 Jul 2026
Status:	Question Answered
Reply type:	Reply
Document ID:	WQ_31855_2026
Document guid:	34098014-cb72-4616-bbd9-b08f722bff6a

31855 (2026). Ricardo Menéndez March to the Minister of Immigration: 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?

Hon Erica Stanford: 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.