Emigrate to New Zealand: Character Waivers Part 1.
There is very little information available on the process of applying for a Character Waiver. Funnily enough – there is no published guide from Immigration New Zealand on how to proceed if you are in the position of having to apply for this. Why am I not surprised???
What is available is a section in the Operations manual showing the actions that case offices are supposed to take when dealing with issues of character.
A5.25.1 Action
a.Visa and immigration officers must not automatically decline residence applications on character grounds.
b. Officers must consider the surrounding circumstances of the application to decide whether or not they are compelling enough to justify waiving the good character requirement. The circumstances include but are not limited to the following factors as appropriate:
i if applicable, the seriousness of the offence (generally indicated by the term of imprisonment or size of the fine);
ii whether there is more than one offence;
iii if applicable, the significance of the false, misleading or forged information provided, or information withheld, and whether the applicant is able to supply a reasonable and credible explanation or other evidence indicating that in supplying or withholding such information they did not intend to deceive the NZIS;
iv how long ago the relevant event occurred;
v whether the applicant has any immediate family lawfully and permanently (see F4.1.1) in New Zealand;
vi whether the applicant has some strong emotional or physical tie to New Zealand;
vii whether the applicant’s potential contribution to New Zealand will be significant.
c. In the case of a person covered by A5.25(j) and (k) above, officers must consider, in addition to any relevant matters listed in A5.25.1(b) above, the following:
i the length of time since the applicant publicly expressed the views, or was a member or adherent of the group or organisation, and
ii whether the applicant still holds the views or still belongs or adheres to the group or organisation, and any evidence of a change in views, and
iii the extent to which the applicant was involved in publishing or distributing the views, or the extent of involvement in the group or organisation, and
iv. the nature of the views, or the nature of the group or organisation.
d. Officers must make a decision only after they have considered all relevant factors, including (if applicable):
i any advice from the National Office of the NZIS, and
ii compliance with fairness and natural justice requirements (see A1 (See: “A1 Fairness and Natural Justice” on page 1)).
e. Officers must record:
i their consideration of the surrounding circumstances, (see paragraph (b) above),
noting all factors taken into account, and
ii the reasons for their decision to waive or decline to waive the good character requirements.
f. Any decision to waive the good character requirements must be made by either:
i a seconded visa officer; or
ii an officer with schedule 1 delegations.
OK, so what on earth does that all mean???
Firstly – it suggests that NZIS have to give you the opportunity to state your case. There are people who are not eligible to apply for character waivers – that is under a slightly different heading in the Operations manual. These tend to be people connected to regimes and groups that would be detrimental to New Zealand’s reputation if they lived here – basically the more serious criminal types.
If however it has been determined that you have criminal convictions, or that you said something on your application that isn’t true – then according to the above list INZ cannot simply turn you down for a Visa.
So in terms of whether NZIS can waive the character requirement – they need to look at 7 things under section b. above – the surrounding circumstances.
Once again – I am disgusted to say that they do not clearly state how they approach this, or how they make the determination – however we have found a case at the Residence Review Board that does explain it.
In this case – Appeal 14978 – you actually get to see the process for NZIS to work through these 7 sections. It’s about half way down the file, and there is a table with a “Negative” column and a “Positive” Column. NZIS work through the 7 factors and determine whether the applicant scores a + or – for each item, and puts it in the appropriate column. I guess if you have more positives than negative – you get the character waiver.
Why on earth NZIS can’t just say that to the people involved in these cases is just beyond my comprehension I’m afraid.
Please note: We do not KNOW if this is the process NZIS use to work through the waiver process. We have no way of being able to tell for sure.
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Related posts:
- Emigrate to New Zealand: Good Character Requirements.
- Character Waivers Part 2 – Intent to Deceive.
- Momentary insanity at NZIS or simple spelling mistake?
Comments
One Comment on Emigrate to New Zealand: Character Waivers Part 1.
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Hubby on
Thu, 2nd Jul 2009 7:00 pm
I think akey thing here, get character references from colleagues, friends etc. Then it’s not just your word, but someone else saying you’re a good egg really.
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