New Zealand First is wanting to make sweeping changes to the country's immigration laws.

The party unveiled over a dozen new policies on Friday as part of a dramatic overhaul of the immigration system ahead of November's general election.

Part of the reforms put forward include a referendum on enacting an annual cap of 20,000 resident visas issued each year.

The party also wants to update birthright citizenship requirements, so children of citizens are automatically entitled to New Zealand citizenship at birth.

NZ First leader Winston Peters said population growth should not outpace an ability to build the country.

"New Zealand First will substantially reduce non-essential immigration and restore the principle that immigration is a privilege, not a right," he said.

"New Zealand is more than an economy. It is a nation with its own history, institutions and way of life. Immigration policy should strengthen social cohesion and encourage integration into a shared national community."

The party wants to change settings for asylum seekers, where any person who seeks asylum while in New Zealand on a working-class visa would be ineligible.

Asylum claimants would not be able to use a temporary work rights granted during the assessment period as a stepping stone to another visa.

Qualifying periods for permanent residents and citizenship would also be more rigourous with the required period to qualify for citizenship from five years to a minimum of 10 years. The qualifying period for permanent residence will be extended from two to five years under the proposed reforms.

NZ First would increase the cost of applying for New Zealand citizenship and permanent residence "to reflect its value and to better fund the wider immigration system".

A 10-year welfare stand-down period would be implemented for all visa holders, meaning non-citizens would be ineligible for jobseeker, accommodation supplement, or any other benefits during their first 10 years in New Zealand.

The party said it would bring in a 24-month amnesty for overstayers to self-deport, with no restrictions on applying to return. But any overstayer found after that period has lapsed would be deported and ineligible to apply for any visa in the future.

A proposed referendum on a resident visa cap would include linking immigration settings directly to infrastructure capacity, requiring major population growth to occur only where infrastructure already exists or is fully funded and scheduled for delivery, stopping councils being forced to adapt to central government planning where local infrastructure cannot support it, and a development of a 30-year population plan to coordinate immigration, housing and infrastructure planning.