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Electoral Act 1993

Registration of electors - Registration

87: Procedure if immigration status means applicant apparently not qualified to be registered

You could also call this:

"What happens if your immigration status stops you from being on the electoral roll?"

Illustration for Electoral Act 1993

If you apply to be on the electoral roll, the Electoral Commission checks your details. They use a process under section 263A to see if you are in New Zealand legally. They check if you are here unlawfully or if you have a temporary visa. If the Electoral Commission thinks you are not allowed to be on the roll, they send you a notice. The notice says they think you are not qualified to be on the roll and you have 10 working days to respond. You need to tell them if they are wrong about your immigration status. If you do not respond, the Electoral Commission sends you another notice. This notice reminds you of what they think about your immigration status and gives you another 10 working days to respond. If you still do not respond, the Electoral Commission decides if you can be on the roll. The Electoral Commission looks at any information you give them and decides if you are qualified to be on the roll. If they decide you are not qualified, they send you a notice telling you their decision. They send notices by post and assume you get them four working days after they are sent. The Electoral Commission follows the Postal Services Act 1998 when sending notices by post. They make sure the notice is addressed to you and given to a postal operator to send. You are assumed to have got the notice unless you can prove you did not.

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View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=DLM3955636.

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Topics:
Immigration and citizenship > VisasGovernment and voting > Elections
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Part 5Registration of electors
Registration

87Procedure if immigration status means applicant apparently not qualified to be registered

  1. This section applies if, as a result of a comparison carried out under section 263A, the Electoral Commission believes that a person who has applied to be (but is not yet) registered as an elector of an electoral district is—

  2. unlawfully in New Zealand; or
    1. lawfully in New Zealand but only by virtue of being the holder of a temporary entry class visa of whatever type.

      1. If this section applies, the Electoral Commission must comply with subsections (3) to (5) before determining whether the applicant is qualified to be registered.

      2. The Electoral Commission must, as soon as practicable, give written notice to the applicant stating—

      3. that it believes that the person is—
        1. unlawfully in New Zealand; or
          1. lawfully in New Zealand but only by virtue of being the holder of a temporary entry class visa of whatever type; and
          2. that it may determine that the applicant’s immigration status means that the applicant is not qualified to be registered as an elector if information to the contrary is not made available to it by or on behalf of the applicant within 10 working days after the applicant receives the notice.

            1. If the Electoral Commission receives no response within the time required, it must, as soon as practicable, give written notice again to the applicant stating—

            2. the advice that it received under section 263A(5) in respect of the applicant; and
              1. the date on which the initial notice was delivered to the applicant; and
                1. that it may determine that the applicant’s immigration status means that the applicant is not qualified to be registered as an elector if information to the contrary is not made available to it by or on behalf of the applicant within 10 working days after the applicant receives the further notice.

                  1. The Electoral Commission may determine whether the applicant is qualified to be registered if—

                  2. it has not received any response within the time specified in subsection (4)(c); or
                    1. it has considered any response that was received within that time.

                      1. If the Electoral Commission determines that the applicant is not qualified to be registered, it must give written notice to the applicant of the determination.

                      2. For the purposes of this section, a notice sent to the applicant by post—

                      3. is, in the absence of proof to the contrary, to be treated as having been delivered to and received by the applicant by post on the fourth working day after the date on which it is sent by post; and
                        1. is to be treated as sent by post to the applicant on a particular day if it is proved to have been—
                          1. properly addressed to the applicant; and
                            1. submitted on that day to a person registered as a postal operator under the Postal Services Act 1998 for posting.

                            Notes
                            • Section 87: replaced, on , by section 25 of the Electoral Amendment Act 2017 (2017 No 9).
                            • Section 87(3): amended, on , by section 29(1) of the Electoral Amendment Act 2025 (2025 No 82).
                            • Section 87(4): amended, on , by section 29(2) of the Electoral Amendment Act 2025 (2025 No 82).
                            • Section 87(6): amended, on , by section 29(3) of the Electoral Amendment Act 2025 (2025 No 82).