A South African man looking for love and a Brazilian woman who confused Lord of the Rings with Harry Potter were among those denied entry to New Zealand in the last financial year.
More than 4300 people were denied entry to New Zealand in the last financial year. Photo: 123RF
More than 4300 people were denied entry to New Zealand according to Immigration New Zealand's annual report.
It contains detailed reasons for some of the refusals.
A man with a South African passport was dropped off in Taiwan due to identity concerns raised when his profile on a popular dating website stated he was a New Zealander seeking "a nice girl to have serious relationship".
Officials decided a woman from Brazil was not a genuine visitor because she had no outward ticket and had little knowledge of New Zealand.
She said she wanted to see Lord of the Rings locations, referencing Harry Potter as the main character of the film.
A man who was travelling from Canada was sent back after it was found an English court found him guilty of being part of a scam of US government bonds amounting to $2.5 trillion.
Malaysians and Hong Kong nationals were most often denied entry, with Brazil and Taiwan also having high rejection numbers.
Three quarters of those turned away did not even get as far as boarding at their point of departure; the rest were sent back once they arrived.
Nearly six million people were allowed in, an increase of nine percent on the previous year.
China and the US had the most visitors, while the Philippines had the biggest increase, up 35 percent on last year's numbers.
Auckland International Airport had the highest number of visitors, Christchurch was second and Wellington third.
The report said 42 percent of all visitors did not require a visa to travel to New Zealand.
