Immigration Act 2009

Deportation - Liability for deportation

161: Deportation liability of residence class visa holder convicted of criminal offence

You could also call this:

"What happens if you commit a crime and hold a New Zealand residence visa"

If you hold a residence class visa and are convicted of a crime, you may be deported. You can be deported if you are convicted of a crime that can be punished with imprisonment for 3 months or more. This can happen if the crime was committed while you were in New Zealand without a visa, or while you held a temporary visa. If you are convicted of a crime that can be punished with imprisonment for 2 years or more, you can be deported if the crime was committed within 5 years of you getting your residence class visa. You can also be deported if you are sentenced to imprisonment for 5 years or more for a crime committed within 10 years of getting your residence class visa. You can be deported if you commit a crime against section 350(1), 351, or 351A of the Immigration Act, within 10 years of getting your residence class visa. If you are told you may be deported, you have 28 days to appeal to the Tribunal. You can appeal on humanitarian grounds or if you are a refugee or protected person. The time you spend in prison does not count when working out how long you have held your residence class visa. You are considered to have first held a residence class visa on the date you were granted the visa in New Zealand. If you got the visa outside New Zealand, it is the date you first arrived in New Zealand with the visa. If you left New Zealand for 5 years or more, it is the date you returned to New Zealand. You can appeal to the Tribunal if you think you should not be deported. You can appeal if you are a refugee or protected person and you think you should not be deported.

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View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=DLM1440849.

This page was last updated on 4 April 2026 — View changes

Topics:

Immigration and citizenship > VisasCrime and justice > Criminal law

160: Deportation liability of residence class visa holder if new information as to character becomes available, or

"Resident visa holders may face deportation if new character information emerges within 5 years"

162: Deportation liability if refugee or protection status cancelled under section 146, or

"You can be deported if your refugee or protected person status is cancelled"

Part 6Deportation
Liability for deportation

161Deportation liability of residence class visa holder convicted of criminal offence

A residence class visa holder is liable for deportation if he or she is convicted, in New Zealand or elsewhere,—
of an offence for which the court has the power to impose imprisonment for a term of 3 months or more if the offence was committed at any time—
1. when the person was unlawfully in New Zealand; or
2. when the person held a temporary entry class visa; or
3. not later than 2 years after the person first held a residence class visa; or
of an offence for which the court has the power to impose imprisonment for a term of 2 years or more, if the offence was committed not later than 5 years after the person first held a residence class visa; or
of an offence and sentenced to imprisonment for a term of 5 years or more (or for an indeterminate period capable of running for 5 years or more), if the offence was committed not later than 10 years after the person first held a residence class visa; or
of an offence against section 350(1), 351, or 351A, if the offence was committed not later than 10 years after the person first held a residence class visa, and whether that visa was granted before or after this paragraph comes into force.

A person liable for deportation under this section may, not later than 28 days after being served with a deportation liability notice, appeal to the Tribunal—
on humanitarian grounds against his or her liability for deportation; and
if he or she is a refugee or a protected person, against any decision of a refugee and protection officer that he or she may be deported.

For the purposes of subsection (1)(a)(iii), (b), (c), and (d), the periods of 2 years, 5 years, and 10 years after a person first held a residence class visa are to be determined exclusive of any time spent by the person in imprisonment following conviction for any offence.
Subsection (1)(c) applies—
whether the sentence is of immediate effect or is deferred or is suspended in whole or in part:
if a person has been convicted of 2 or more offences on the same occasion or in the same proceedings, and any sentences of imprisonment imposed in respect of those offences are cumulative, as if the person had been convicted of a single offence and sentenced for that offence to the total of the cumulative sentences:
if a person has been convicted of 2 or more offences, and a single sentence has been imposed in respect of those offences, as if that sentence had been imposed in respect of a conviction for a single offence.

For the purposes of this section and section 160(1), a person first holds a residence class visa—
on the date on which the person is first granted a residence class visa of any type in New Zealand; or
if the visa was granted outside of New Zealand, on the first occasion on which the person arrives in New Zealand and is granted entry permission as the holder of the residence class visa; or
if the person arrives in New Zealand and is granted entry permission as the holder of a residence class visa following a continuous period of absence from New Zealand of at least 5 years, on the date the person first re-enters New Zealand after the continuous period of absence; or
if the person is a person to whom a visa waiver applies and arrives in New Zealand following a continuous period of absence from New Zealand of at least 5 years, on the date the person first re-enters New Zealand (and is granted a residence class visa) after the continuous period of absence.

Subsection (7) applies to a person if he or she—
was exempt from the requirement to hold a permit under the former Act; but
is deemed to hold a residence class visa under section 417(3) of this Act.

For the purposes of this section, the person first holds a residence class visa—
on the date he or she first entered New Zealand and was exempt from the requirement to hold a residence permit under the former Act; or
on the date he or she first re-entered New Zealand and was exempt from the requirement to hold a residence permit under the former Act following a continuous period of absence from New Zealand of at least 5 years.

Compare

1987 No 74 s 91(1), (4), (6)

Notes

Section 161(1)(c): amended, on 7 May 2015, by section 43(1) of the Immigration Amendment Act 2015 (2015 No 48).
Section 161(1)(d): inserted, on 7 May 2015, by section 43(2) of the Immigration Amendment Act 2015 (2015 No 48).
Section 161(1)(d): amended, on 28 November 2025, by section 20(4) of the Immigration (Fiscal Sustainability and System Integrity) Amendment Act 2025 (2025 No 75).
Section 161(3): amended, on 7 May 2015, by section 43(3) of the Immigration Amendment Act 2015 (2015 No 48).