No problem, thank you.
I'll run through partnership policies, domestic violence policies, and will comment on our culturally arranged marriage provisions and the work going on to combat forced marriage. I will talk a little about our prostitution legislation as well.
As an overarching statement, our partnership policies, along with all of our other immigration policies, are not prescribed in legislation. We have framework legislation and we then have certified immigration instructions, which the Minister of Immigration authorizes. This means that our immigration system is quite flexible and it means therefore that we can change policies reasonably quickly. We're reviewing our partnership policies at the moment and this might result in changes, possibly next year.
So, partnership.... For residents, the partnership residence policy allows partners of New Zealand citizens and residents to apply for a residence class visa to live with their partner in New Zealand. Its objectives are to strengthen New Zealand's families and communities, contribute to our social cohesion and development, and attract and retain skills of New Zealand citizens and residents with non-resident partners. To be granted a residence-class visa, applicants must satisfy an immigration officer that their partnership is genuine and stable, that it is exclusive, and likely to endure. The immigration officer must also be satisfied that they have been living together with their New Zealand partner for 12 months or more. That's the case whether they are married, in a de facto relationship, or have a civil union. If they have not lived together for 12 months we have deferral provisions to enable the qualifying period to be met.
Unlike Canada the New Zealand partnership policies do not have a sponsorship element. This is something we're looking at in our review, though. Another difference between New Zealand and other countries is that New Zealand does not have a probationary period for residence visas for partners of New Zealanders apart from the temporary visas that may be granted to enable them to make the 12-month living together requirement.
The number of residence-class visas granted on the basis of partnership in the 2012-13 year was 10,039. This was about 30% of all residence visas granted that year. Each year around 60% of partnership applicants are women. We give priority in processing, so decision-making for residence applications made under the partner of an expatriate category, in this case a supporting partner must be a New Zealand citizen or resident who has been absent from New Zealand for at least two years. These applications are allocated to a case officer within 10 working days. They will usually be decided within two to three months. The reason for this is that we have a very big expatriate population. Many New Zealanders live overseas so it's an attraction-retention mechanism for our skilled New Zealand citizens.
For a New Zealander to be eligible to support a residence-class visa application under partnership policy they must not have been a partner in more than one previous application, so there's a maximum of two foreigners who can be brought to New Zealand under this policy; not to have been a partner in a successful application in the previous five years; not to have been the perpetrator of domestic violence resulting in a domestic violence visa for a previous partner; and they must meet certain character requirements, including not having a conviction for sexual or domestic violence offences.
Under our temporary policies we have a number of temporary work visas available for partners: partnership for partners of New Zealand citizens or residents, which was around 13,500 approvals last financial year; partner of a worker, approximately 12,000 approvals that year; partner of a student, approximately 1,500. For the purpose of inclusion in a temporary application or residence application, it's a person who is legally married, a person who is in a civil union relationship, a person who is in a de facto relationship, which means living together. They must all be in a genuine and stable partnership. There are no duration requirements for the temporary entry visas, however.
Partnership fraud is presenting a serious and increasing challenge for New Zealand. Immigration officers report that partnership-based applications are extremely difficult to decline, even if there are suspicions that they may not be genuine. There are high levels of approval, over 95% in the last financial year. Challenges from lawyers and immigrations agents were noted by immigration officers as the major reasons not to try to decline suspicious cases, or not to decline them, in any case.
Immigration officers say they can find it difficult to assess whether a relationship is genuine or not, despite the fact that under our immigration instructions the onus of proof is on the couple, rather than on Immigration New Zealand, with regard to proof of the relationship being genuine and stable.
The fraud branch reports that approximately a quarter of the referrals to it are partnership fraud. While the majority of this fraud is ad hoc and individual family-based, there are indications that organized partnership fraud is a growing problem. While the majority of partnership fraud cases involve both partners being complicit in the fraud, Immigration New Zealand is also finding an increasing number of cases in which the supporting partner—the New Zealand partner—is being, or has been duped.
The level of partnership fraud is impossible to quantify. This is not peculiar to partnership fraud of course. On the one hand, referrals are often malicious, but on the other, even if it occurs, neither party will report it, as potentially both could lose their immigration status if both of them are foreign. It is also hard to get convictions. Prosecution is unlikely to be successful, as it is very difficult to get witnesses to testify.
In regard to victims of domestic violence, only partners of New Zealand citizens and residents are eligible for the domestic violence policy provisions. We don't have any policies for partners of temporary visa holders when the relationship breaks down through domestic violence and they're both in New Zealand on temporary visas.
We have two types of visas available under the policy: a work visa and a residence visa. For the work visa, the applicant must be in New Zealand, be or have been in a partnership with a New Zealand citizen or resident, and have intended to seek residence in New Zealand on the basis of their partnership. The partnership must have ended due to domestic violence by the New Zealand partner or a family member, and the applicant must show a need to work to support themselves.
An open work visa can be granted for six months. This can be extended to nine months if the applicant applies for residence, which does imply.... You can see that the residence application decision will be quite quick once it's made. Applications are determined by immigration officers who have received specialized training, and they are prioritized for processing.
For the residence category visas, the applicant must have intended to seek residence on the basis of a partnership with a New Zealander, and the partnership must have ended through domestic violence. Further, the applicant must be in New Zealand and then must be unable to return to their home country. This can be because of social stigma that they would endure if they had to return. The applicant must meet standard health and character criteria, although waivers can be considered, particularly for health conditions.
In 2012-13, 62 people applied for residence under this category, and of those 41—which is 66%—were approved. Each year, over 95% of applicants are women, but not—obviously—exclusively women.
For evidence of domestic violence, applicants can provide a conviction of the partner, a protection order against the partner, a complaint of domestic violence investigated by the police where police are satisfied that domestic violence has occurred, or a statutory declaration from the applicant and two independent, qualified people—these can be a social worker, a doctor, a nurse, a women's refuge staff member—stating that domestic violence has occurred.
In terms of culturally arranged marriages, people intending to marry New Zealand citizens or residents of New Zealand may be granted a visitor visa for up to three months. For this they must satisfy an immigration officer that the marriage follows a cultural tradition where the arrangements for the marriage—including the selection of the persons to be married—are made by people who are not parties to the marriage.
The immigration officer must be satisfied that they intend to marry within three months and that the intent is that the marriage will be maintained on a long-term and exclusive basis. Otherwise, normally we will not permit people to come to New Zealand to get married, if they have not met their New Zealand partner.
Holders of this visa may be eligible for an initial 12-month work visa as the partner of a New Zealand citizen or resident after the marriage has taken place. This will enable people to satisfy their living together requirements so that they can then apply for permanent residence. In 2012-13, 116 applications were received under this category. Of these, 57 or only one-third were approved.
There have been concerns that this policy may be used to enable forced marriages. There are protections in place to ensure the consensual nature of marriage. Other than two exemptions, which are for Quakers and one small Christian church, all marriages must be conducted by an approved and listed celebrant. A celebrant or registrar must not knowingly marry someone under age 16 or under 18 without parental consent. Registrars or celebrants must refuse to issue a licence or solemnize the marriage if they believe the marriage is not consensual.
Concerns have been raised about so-called cultural marriages that take place without a licence or approved celebrant. This suggests that those who conduct forced marriages do so outside the law, which may happen in New Zealand or elsewhere. The New Zealand government monitors the number of marriages involving people under the age of 18. In 2013 there were 57 marriages involving a person under 18.
Concerning forced marriage, concluding observations made by the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women in 2012—the last time we were examined—expressed concerns about reports of forced and underage marriage in New Zealand. While the issue of alleged forced marriages has been periodically raised, there hasn't been any actual evidence of its taking place. The government remains aware that it's a potential issue.
A letter of agreement on forced marriage signed last year outlines the governmental multi-agency response to any reports of forced marriage. Immigration New Zealand is a signatory to the agreement and is committed to work with individuals who approach it for immigration assistance, to treat inquiries confidentially, and to work closely with the external partner agencies to determine any immigration-related issues and to treat any applications as a priority.
Government agencies are working to increase the understanding of forced marriage and to raise public awareness, including, obviously, of its illegality. New Zealand police deliver training for staff on forced marriage and the types of violence commonly associated with forced marriage. Specialist police staff are available to investigate cases of forced marriage, and they're engaging with local communities to build trust and confidence.
As part of the migrant and refugee resettlement strategy, the Mangere Refugee Resettlement Centre in Auckland provides education on forced marriage to all people resettled in New Zealand under the refugee quota. So all of our quota refugees get specific information about forced marriage and its legal status in New Zealand and our extreme desire to prevent it from occurring.
I'll conclude with just a little comment on our Prostitution Reform Act. It was passed in 2003 and it decriminalized prostitution; however, it includes protections for people who are not New Zealanders. Specifically, no one can provide commercial sexual services or in fact invest in commercial sexual services or manage commercial sexual services, unless they're either a citizen or a permanent migrant without conditions on their visa. The aim was to put the legislation through with a harm minimization focus. It was considered at the time that people who were in New Zealand on temporary visas and who possibly did not speak English very well were at high risk of victimization.
I'm finished now.
