Leaders help in bid to reach overstayers

Asian community leaders are being used to win the trust of illegal immigrants in Immigration New Zealand's latest move to reduce the number of overstayers.

Advertisements will appear in ethnic newspapers and on radio across Auckland inviting illegal immigrants to "information clinics" with leaders in their communities, at which they discuss their immigration status.

The overstayers will be given the choice of having their status in New Zealand legalised, or leaving the country without being blacklisted for future re-entry.

Those who choose not to abide by these recommendations could continue to overstay, but will be warned that they will be subjected to a five-year ban if they have to be removed.

The move follows the successful trial of four education clinics run with the Indian, Chinese and Korean communities last year.

The clinics resulted in 12 overstayers being granted residence or work permits and 11 voluntary departures with "no compliance action taken".

Two illegal immigrants had to be forcefully removed, costing the department about $3600, and 15 others decided to continue staying in New Zealand illegally.

Immigration head Andrew Annakin said the plan to keep the project running followed positive feedback from communities, but the timing for the new education clinic would depend on numbers and available resources, and be decided on a case-by-casebasis.

"The clinics aim to provide free and frank advice in a non-threatening environment where options available to those who are in New Zealand unlawfully can be discussed."

Immigration was hopeful that people attending the clinics would alert the department to illegal immigration advisers, he said.

Figures show the number of immigrants unlawfully in New Zealand has fallen to 15,769 from 17,485 last year.

In a staff training guideline, the agency said the aim was to give overstayers informed options in a culturally sensitive way, and strengthen the relationship between Immigration and ethnic communities.

Tony Tse, a licensed immigration adviser and Chinese community leader who has been appointed to run information clinics for Chinese overstayers in Auckland, says the biggest challenge is winning the trust of illegal immigrants.

"With community leaders fronting the clinics, overstayers will not see it as a meeting organised by a Government agency out to get them ..."