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Immigration Act 2009

Compliance and information - Powers generally

293B: Application for warrant to enter and search relating to deportation

You could also call this:

"Searching Your Home for Deportation Purposes"

Illustration for Immigration Act 2009

You can be searched if you are to be deported. An immigration officer can ask for a warrant to enter your home or marae and search for you. They must apply to a District Court Judge in the way set out in section 98 of the Search and Surveillance Act 2012. You are more likely to be searched if there are good reasons to think you will be at the home or marae. The immigration officer must think about how the search will affect you and others, like children or elderly people. They must also think about whether the search is reasonable and in the public interest. A District Court Judge can give a warrant if they think there are good reasons for the search. They must be satisfied that you are likely to be deported and that the search is reasonable. The Judge must also think about whether the search will affect others and if it is in the public interest.

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View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=LMS1561093.

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Topics:
Immigration and citizenship > Border controlCrime and justice > Police and safety
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293A: Warrant to enter and search, or

"Immigration officers can get permission to search places for evidence of immigration-related crimes"

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293C: Departmental annual report to record exercise of power to issue warrant to enter and search relating to deportation, or

"Yearly report on deportation search warrants"

Part 8Compliance and information
Powers generally

293BApplication for warrant to enter and search relating to deportation

  1. An immigration officer may apply for a warrant to enter a dwelling or marae and search for a person named in a deportation liability notice, deportation order, or removal order out of hours.

  2. The application must be made to a District Court Judge in the manner provided for in section 98 of the Search and Surveillance Act 2012.

  3. The application must, in addition to the particulars set out in section 98(1) of the Search and Surveillance Act 2012,—

  4. set out how the proposed entry and search is intended to be carried out; and
    1. include an assessment of how the proposed entry and search takes into account the culture of the person named in a deportation liability notice, deportation order, or removal order and anyone else who may be present in the dwelling or marae; and
      1. consider the potential impact of the proposed entry and search on anyone else who may be present in the dwelling or marae, including—
        1. children; and
          1. elderly persons; and
            1. other vulnerable persons; and
            2. demonstrate that reasonable alternatives to the proposed entry and search have been considered; and
              1. include an assessment of whether the proposed entry and search is reasonable, proportionate, and in the public interest.

                1. A District Court Judge may issue a warrant to an immigration officer if the Judge is satisfied that—

                2. there are reasonable grounds to believe that the person specified in the application is liable for deportation from New Zealand; and
                  1. there are reasonable grounds to believe that the person is likely to be at the dwelling or marae specified in the application out of hours; and
                    1. the application meets the requirements set out in subsection (3); and
                      1. on the basis of the application, it is appropriate to issue the warrant.

                        1. Section 98 of the Search and Surveillance Act 2012 applies to an application, but with the following modifications:

                        2. every reference to an issuing officer is to be read as a reference to a District Court Judge; and
                          1. every reference to the applicant is to be read as a reference to the immigration officer.

                            Notes
                            • Section 293B: inserted, on , by section 33 of the Immigration (Fiscal Sustainability and System Integrity) Amendment Act 2025 (2025 No 75).