Immigration

A High Court judge has rejected a bid to have immigration charges against a millionaire businessman thrown out.

Two new guides to help migrant dairy workers and their employers work together more successfully have been launched.

New Zealand has recorded its biggest loss of migrants in a 12-month period since August 2001 but ASB chief economist Nick Tuffley says the permanent departure of Kiwis to Australia has been moderating.

Poor migrants who speak little or no English are to be subject to stricter immigration laws under a review that will create a "two-tier" system to favour the wealthy, a leaked Cabinet paper shows.

New Zealand has a reputation as a "soft touch" for refugees and has previously been the target of boatloads of asylum seekers, Cabinet papers say.

Fraudsters and criminals are among those with permanent residence status who are being deported or facing deportation.

More than 100 people filled the Clifford Skeggs Gallery this week to see 42 new New Zealanders inducted as citizens.

Labour is looking to take politics out of immigration cases and speed up the appeals process by creating a specialist ombudsman.

Plans to make it easier and faster for skilled workers, students and visitors to acquire visas were yesterday welcomed at an Immigration New Zealand update in Queenstown.

British and Irish people are considering staying longer than they originally planned in Queenstown - and the rest of New Zealand - when they contemplate the troubled economies and labour markets in their home countries, an immigration lawyer says.