Immigration

The Australian government has announced a direct pathway to citizenship for New Zealanders, ending a tension between the two countries that has lasted for more than 20 years.

Businesses employing immigrants via the accredited work visa scheme need to get their "house in order" before the auditor comes calling, an immigration lawyer says.

Authorities said it was an elaborate scheme which targeted vulnerable migrant workers.

Michael Wood is defending the pace of the government's immigration changes, under criticism the welcome mat for healthcare workers should have been rolled out a lot earlier. Audio

A government log of attempts by asylum seekers to reach New Zealand shows a fishing trawler and its 248 Sri Lankan passengers have never been seen again.

An immigration lawyer says a new work visa has prompted a free-for-all, with migrants paying up to $40,000 to overseas agents and New Zealand employers.

Voices talks to former NZDF Afghan interpreter Nowroz Ali Atayee a year after he arrived in NZ on an evacuation flight, and to his sisters about the ban on women's education imposed by the Taliban. Audio

The immigration minister is looking to add skippers and deckhands to the list of roles eligible for fast-track visas, the boss of Fullers 360 says. Audio

The chief ombudsman says the ministry acted unreasonably while handling their MIQ case.

Courts would be able to order that anyone claiming refugee status be monitored, with other conditions such as residency requirements and curfews.

Two suspected undocumented immigrants suffocated to death aboard a freight train and 10 others in need of medical care were taken by helicopter or ambulance to hospital in south Texas, police said.

The government's decision to allow British anti-transgender activist Posie Parker into New Zealand was the right one, the High Court has ruled.