New Zealand Refugee Quota Programme

New Zealand will continue to accept 1,500 refugees a year under the Refugee Quota Programme from 2022/23 to 2024/25. The proportion of places allocated to the Middle East and Africa international allocations has increased from 15% to 20% respectively, along with the number of emergency and urgent resettlement places (up from 35 to 100 people annually). Following the Taliban’s takeover of Afghanistan in 2021, New Zealand set aside a number of places specifically for Afghan refugees to be resettled from 2023/24. The Government has decided to bring this forward a year to match referral capacity and support well managed settlement across communities in New Zealand. The number of places specifically allocated in 2022/23 for Afghan refugees is 200. Each year, the Ministers of Immigration and Foreign Affairs allocate 200 places for refugees from large-scale international crisis situations. In 2022/23, New Zealand will resettle 200 Syrian refugees (including Kurdish minorities) located in Iraq, Jordan, and Lebanon through this sub-category. Refugees considered for resettlement under the programme (except certain applicants who are nuclear or dependent family members of the principal) must be recognised as mandated refugees and referred to New Zealand by UNHCR according to prescribed resettlement guidelines. When INZ processes and decides these cases the following factors are considered: INZ policy, credibility, settlement, security, immigration risk, and health.