NZ considers letting in 300 Afghan refugees

New Zealand is considering opening the doors to 300 Afghan refugees who fled their homeland to India.

Labour Department refugee division director Kevin Third said two officials were heading to India on Friday to spend three weeks interviewing refugees who fled the Taleban regime.

The United Nations Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) referred the people after assessing them individually as genuine refugees.

Mr Third said there was no guarantee they would all be accepted, the UNHCR would need to provide comment about why they had been determined as refugees and why they needed the protection of another country.

"The refugees will also be individually assessed by the department to establish their identities and ensure their background and character is suitable for acceptance by New Zealand."

The refugees selected would be part of New Zealand's national quota of 750 UN mandate refugees a year.

They would start arriving early next year.

- NZPA