Immigration New Zealand (INZ) has today released its updated estimate of the number of people currently in New Zealand who have overstayed their visa.

The latest estimate shows that as of 1 July 2025, there were around 20,980 people in New Zealand who had overstayed their visa.

This is the first estimate produced using INZ’s newly adopted methodology, which has significantly enhanced the accuracy of the estimate since the previous one was carried out in 2017. That estimate put the number of people who have overstayed their visas at approximately 14,000, but direct comparisons between the two estimates cannot be made because of the different methodologies used.

Steve Watson, General Manager of Immigration Compliance and Investigations, says the estimate shows that the number of people who overstay their visa is a very small proportion of temporary migrants who come to New Zealand and there are clear plans to reduce these.

“Each year, New Zealand processes around one million visa applications and 1.6 million New Zealand Electronic Travel Authority requests and sees approximately 3.6 million arrivals from non-New Zealand citizens each year,” Mr Watson says. “While the vast majority of people comply with their visa conditions and leave before the expiry of their visa, unfortunately some people do not leave and consequently remain in New Zealand unlawfully.”

The estimate will be refreshed annually using updated methodology and will be used alongside other systems and tools to improve efforts to address overstaying and enhance policy advice.

The estimate will be released by INZ annually on its website as part of its broader efforts to improve transparency and public confidence in the immigration system.

INZ’s approach to people who overstay their visa

We take our role as regulators seriously and ensure visa holders understand their obligations. We actively engage with every single visa holder, proactively sending texts, phone, email and letters to remind them of their obligations, and do a significant amount of work to provide information to educate migrants on their rights and obligations as visa holders in New Zealand.

We have an early intervention process for clients who become unlawful, encouraging active engagement with INZ, including options of voluntarily departing New Zealand before they are deported. People who overstay their visa must understand that if they do not qualify for a further visa, they are expected to leave New Zealand, or face deportation.

From the 01 July 2024 to 30 June 2025 financial year, 1,259 unlawful people were deported by INZ, self-deported or voluntarily departed New Zealand, an increase of 352 from the previous financial year. Our compliance efforts over the past couple of years have focused primarily on addressing situations such as criminal activity as the first priority, particularly those who pose a threat to national security. We have improved our productivity significantly in the compliance space over the last two years and this has seen our deportation numbers increase in recent years. Our operational focus is to ensure those who are of greatest risk to New Zealand, are deported.

When Immigration Compliance staff locate someone who has overstayed their visa, they assess all available options including alternative visa pathways. Where possible individuals are encouraged to leave New Zealand voluntarily if they do not qualify for a new visa.

Anyone unlawfully in New Zealand is encouraged to contact INZ to discuss their situation and explore the options available to them. They can contact us on our free phone 0508 55 88 55.

Notes:

Table 1: Top ten nationalities of people who have overstayed their visas as of 1 July 2025

Table 2: Number of people who have arrived in New Zealand on a temporary visa between 1 July 2023 and 30 June 2025 who have overstayed their visa

The top 10 nationalities of people who had overstayed their visas as at 1 July 2025 account for 69.7% of the total estimate.

A snapshot of the percentage of overstaying compared to temporary visa arrivals for the period 1 July 2023 to 30 June 2025, shows that overall, the percentage of overstaying is less than 0.20% of those who arrived on temporary visas for that same two-year period.

Table 3: A breakdown of the main visa categories and subcategories held at the most recent arrival for those identified as overstaying their visa is as follows:

Table 4: The number of people in New Zealand who have overstayed their visas, by age.

Table 5: A breakdown of those deported in each of the last 5 financial years

Definitions: 

Deportation—A person who is unlawfully in New Zealand who has been served a deportation order and departs New Zealand, or a temporary visa holder who was made liable for deportation and departs New Zealand after the date when they may be served with a deportation order.

Self-deportation —A person who is unlawfully in New Zealand who departs New Zealand of their own volition and at no cost to the Ministry after the date when the person may be served with a deportation order, but they have not been served with such an order.

Voluntary departure —A person who is unlawfully in New Zealand or is a temporary visa holder who was made liable for deportation and departs of their own volition and at no cost to the Ministry prior to the date when the person may be served with a deportation order.

Further details - https://www.immigration.govt.nz/about-us/news-centre/deportation

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