Immigration figures showed fewer than a third of Chinese applicants have had their residence decided, compared to half of Indian and UK migrants. (file photo) Photo:
Migrants fear delays in national security checks are causing hold-ups to decisions on their fast-track residence visas.
Security services look for evidence of extremism, espionage, organised crime and intellectual property theft when they run checks for immigration and citizenship services.
Immigration figures showed fewer than a third of Chinese applicants have had their residence decided, compared to half of Indian and UK migrants, and 60 percent of South Africans.
It is usually hard to track how long certain nationalities' applications take to be processed, but because most migrants eligible for the 2021 residence visa applied at similar times, decision statistics allow limited analysis of wait times.
A Malaysian woman was among the 70 percent of applicants from that country who were waiting for residence decisions in July, her husband among the 80 percent of Pakistanis.
He received an automated request to supply information for a National Security Check (NSC) while they were applying, and she got an email the following day asking for the same details.
She found out their national security check had come back on 20 July and - after an eight-month wait - they were granted residence a fortnight later.
She is understanding about the extra checks, but frustrated at how long they took.
"I'm a Muslim so I've gone through this at some of the airports - picked up to have further questioning or to be checked thoroughly. I'm okay with that," she said.
"There are situations where it is profiling in a way. Immigration has the right to do that but picking a few countries, it's a bit disappointing.
"Whether or not I had been selected or picked or randomly chosen to do the NSC, I'm fine with that. The thing is, why has it taken eight months for this? How come some people receive it within three weeks or a few weeks? And there is no accountability or reasons given to us on why it took that long."
The wait took its toll on her family-of-three, she said, as they were also caught up in delays to skilled migrant residence when they applied in 2019, and that application was never finalised.
She said it would be good to have an acknowledgment from Immigration New Zealand (INZ) of the drawn-out immigration process they underwent.
INZ refused to answer questions about visa processing times for different nationalities.
"National Security Checks (NSCs) are an essential part of a process that ensures the necessary steps are taken to prevent people who may pose a risk to national security, and the wellbeing of New Zealanders, from entering the country," said verification and compliance acting general manager Karen Bishop.
"NSCs may be required for a range of reasons and the time it takes to complete a NSC varies depending on the applicant and their circumstances. Within the timeframe of a visa application being considered, NSCs can take up to six months, with only a very small number of cases taking longer."
Red flags
36th Parallel Assessments director Paul Buchanan says Chinese espionage operations have really ramped up in the past 10 years. (file photo) Photo: RNZ / Richard Tindiller
Former US intelligence consultant and lecturer Paul Buchanan said some countries could be trusted to provide verified security certificates through their citizens that were genuine.
"Other countries, it's a very different affair, not just because of the corruption. In the last 10 years or so, things like Chinese espionage operations have really ramped up," Buchanan said.
"In the Chinese diaspora, they use students as spies, they have people coming in with business visas who are trying to get into strategic sectors of New Zealand in order to engage in intellectual property theft, a whole host of things," he said.
"And as a result countries that have - in the minds of the authorities - a chequered record with regards to extremism, espionage, direct influence operations, even places where criminal organisations thrive, they're given a lot more scrutiny."
New Zealand security services were embarrassed by past errors, including allowing Al-Qaeda-linked students into the country and missing former MP Jian Yang's Chinese military background.
SIS had picked up the pace, and some countries would be ranked as high-risk, said Buchanan, director of 36th Parallel Assessments, a geopolitical risk and strategic assessment consultancy.
Interpol and Five Eyes partners could also provide more information on migrants, he said.
"I know for a fact that Iranian students have come under very heavy scrutiny because they disproportionately want to study physics, which of course, given their track record with their nuclear programme, is a red flag.
"Then there is the issue of intellectual property, because some of our industries are world leaders."
With so many visa applications to vet, he believed computer algorithms would be in use to look for known risks from certain countries, such as informants from China, extremists from Pakistan, and drug smugglers from South America.
"I don't think they assign moral value, they just look and say okay, this originating country has a history of corruption and has a history of extremism. We can't trust what these guys are telling us on the face of it. We've got to slow down and look at these people with a deeper scrutiny.
"It's just the way it is. It's Chinese behaviour by not playing by the rules and not being good global citizens, that's what slows things down for their citizens."
Some of the delays may be down to security services then cross-checking to make sure they were not rejecting a legitimate traveller, he said.
Chinese clients waiting 'months and months'
Immigration lawyer and former minister Matt Robson criticised the vilification of Chinese migrants, adding that select committee oversight was needed.
Among his clients, Chinese were the hardest hit by delays, including a woman who worked on a farm.
"I couldn't believe it. I looked at her background - she was never a general in the PLA [People's Liberation Army], she has never made any statements on Taiwan, never been a cyber hacker. She worked on a farm, and that was proved and that took six or seven months.
"That's one example - my other Chinese clients for the residence visa 2021 are all sitting waiting months and months and months, and they're obviously tied up with security issues.
"The lack of transparency is what gets me, and the fact that there's no select committee, for example, to get at how the intelligence service work, what are their criteria, who's caught up in this."
SIS on security checks
SIS director-general of security Rebecca Kitteridge says they are limited to providing advice relevant to national security threats to inform immigration and citizenship decision making processes. Photo: RNZ / Samuel Rillstone
The Security Intelligence Service (SIS) refused an Official Information Act request on the number of recommendations it made in immigration cases.
"NZSIS checks the details of tens of thousands of individuals each year before they enter New Zealand and advises Immigration New Zealand of potential risks," said director-general of security Rebecca Kitteridge.
"The NZSIS also undertakes security screening of individuals applying for citizenship in accordance with the Citizenship Act 1977. Beyond the above information, I am unable to go into further specifics regarding the number of recommendations made by the NZSIS in relation to the Citizenship Act and Immigration Act. To do so would be prejudicial to security."
SIS did not make immigration or citizenship decisions, Kitteridge said.
"We are limited to providing advice relevant to national security threats to help inform the decision making process."
Its data showed its average response time for a NSC check was 23 days. Citizenship requests were responded to on average after two days, while "priority" residence visas took 38. Residence 2021 category took 46, while "routine residence visas including Residence 2021" took 66.
"The definition of a response includes some applications that we have referred back to Immigration New Zealand for further information," SIS said.
"A NSC response taking longer than the average timeframe is not necessarily indicative of a national security concern being identified."
