New Zealand

New Zealand hosts some 1,800 refugees and 700 asylum seekers predominantly from Asia, the Middle East, the Pacific and South America.

New Zealand is a resettlement country with an annual programme of 1,500 places referred by UNHCR. It is piloting a community sponsorship programme and has a family reunification programme for refugee families. In 2022, New Zealand agreed with Australia to resettle 150 refugees per year for a three-year period for those subject to Australia's offshore transfer arrangements. These numbers are counted from the annual 1,500 quota.

UNHCR supports New Zealand in developing national refugee legislation, increasing capacity in refugee status determination, and introducing protection safeguards in immigration procedures, including detention.

Additional information

For information about our work in New Zealand:

Help

Are you a refugee or asylum-seeker in New Zealand? Find information about your rights and available services on our HELP site.

Pale blue

Text color

White

Visit the HELP site

Legislation and guidance

For legislation, case law and UNHCR policy relating to claims for international protection, visit Refworld.

Dark

Text color

White

Visit Refworld

Office contact details

New Zealand is covered by the following UNHCR office:

Street and postal address

14 Kendall Lane, Canberra, ACT, 2601, Australia

Please note that an appointment must be set to visit the office.

Email

Protection Inquiries: [email protected]
Media and Public Information Inquiries: [email protected]

Phone

Protection inquiries (3 pm to 5 pm Monday, Wednesday and Friday): +61 262 819 100
Media and Public Information Inquiries: + 61 424 545 569
Donation Inquiries in Australia (Australia for UNHCR): 1300 361 288
Donation Inquiries in New Zealand (Aotearoa New Zealand for UNHCR): +64 941 47 883