Thursday, 10 August 2006

The Immigration Service got it wrong in about a third of cases where people appealed against being denied residency, the Residence Review Board says.

The board said in its annual report for the year ended June 2006 that it received 372 appeals in the financial year compared to 408 in the 2004/05 year.

It tackled a backlog of outstanding appeals and also said it was getting decisions out faster. It made 635 decisions in the year. Of these, 56 per cent (356) of appeals were dismissed. Another 279 (44 per cent) of appeals were successful in one way or another, the board said.

The successful appeals included 227 (36 per cent) where the Immigration Service decision "was incorrect". "This relatively high proportion of incorrect decisions shows the benefit of an independent appeal." The board is an independent judicial appeal body that decides appeals against the decline of residence by the Immigration Service.

It also said in its report that the average time between filing an appeal and the release of a decision improved from 17 months to 11.5 months.

Meanwhile, the Removal Review Authority – which hears appeals against orders to leave New Zealand – said it had overturned removal orders in 53 cases.

It said it had also made a dent in the backlog of appeals and was also reducing the average time it took to get decisions out.

The number of appeals against removal it received continued to drop. It received 329 this financial year, a 20 per cent decrease on the previous year. "It has been steadily reducing for the past few years and is now at a level comparable to the mid-1990s," the review authority said.

The authority issued 303 decisions, of which 17 per cent (53 appeals) were successful, meaning those appealing were either granted residence or temporary permits by the authority.

This number was consistent with previous years, the authority said.