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Citizenship Act 1977

New Zealand citizenship - Loss of citizenship

17: Deprivation of New Zealand citizenship in case of fraud, etc

You could also call this:

"Losing Your New Zealand Citizenship if You Got it by Cheating or Mistake"

Illustration for Citizenship Act 1977

If you are a New Zealand citizen, you got that citizenship in one of a few ways. You might have got it by registration under the British Nationality and New Zealand Citizenship Act 1948, or by naturalisation under that Act. You could also have got it by a grant under the Citizenship Act or the Citizenship (Western Samoa) Act 1982.

The Minister can take away your New Zealand citizenship if they think you got it by fraud, false representation, or hiding important information. The Minister can also take away your citizenship if it was given to you by mistake. However, the Minister must follow section 19 when making this decision.

The Minister cannot take away your citizenship if you got it by mistake and taking it away would leave you without any citizenship. This means you would not be a citizen of any country, which is not allowed.

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This page was last updated on

View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=DLM443892.

Topics:
Immigration and citizenship > Becoming a citizenRights and equality > Anti-discrimination
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16: Deprivation of New Zealand citizenship in special cases, or

"Losing Your New Zealand Citizenship in Special Situations"

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Part 1New Zealand citizenship
Loss of citizenship

17Deprivation of New Zealand citizenship in case of fraud, etc

  1. This section applies to a New Zealand citizen who has acquired that citizenship—

  2. by registration under the British Nationality and New Zealand Citizenship Act 1948; or
    1. by naturalisation under that Act; or
      1. by grant under this Act or the Citizenship (Western Samoa) Act 1982.

        1. Subject to section 19, the Minister may, by order, deprive a New Zealand citizen to whom this section applies of his New Zealand citizenship if he is satisfied that the registration, naturalisation, grant, or any grant requirement was procured by fraud, false representation, or wilful concealment of relevant information, or by mistake.

        2. The Minister may not deprive a person of New Zealand citizenship under subsection (2) if—

        3. the citizenship was acquired by mistake; and
          1. to deprive the person of that citizenship would leave the person stateless.

            Compare
            • 1948 No 15 s 23
            Notes
            • Section 17(1)(c): amended, on , by section 10 of the Citizenship (Western Samoa) Act 1982 (1982 No 11).
            • Section 17(2): amended, on , by section 11(1) of the Citizenship Amendment Act 2005 (2005 No 43).
            • Section 17(3): inserted, on , by section 11(2) of the Citizenship Amendment Act 2005 (2005 No 43).