- ACT Party proposes deporting serious criminal offenders regardless of their residence duration in New Zealand.
- A daily $6 infrastructure surcharge would be applied to temporary work visas to fund public services.
- New residents face a five-year welfare stand-down to ensure immigration focuses on economic contribution.
(NEW ZEALAND) – ACT Party leader David Seymour announced a six-point immigration plan that would tighten New Zealand’s rules by deporting serious offenders regardless of how long they have lived in the country, charging a $6 daily infrastructure surcharge on temporary work visas, and blocking new residence-class visa holders from social welfare for their first five years.
Seymour said the policy “restores the basic bargain that New Zealand was built on. People are welcome here if they contribute, respect our democratic values, and help build the country.”
The package sets out a harder line on immigration enforcement and eligibility. It pairs faster removal of serious criminal offenders with new charges on temporary migrants, tighter language rules for applicants, and a dedicated effort to target overstayers.
Under the plan, the ACT Party would deport serious criminal offenders immediately, with no exceptions based on time in New Zealand. That position strips away any allowance tied to the length of a person’s residence and places the offence itself at the center of the decision.
Another plank would impose a $6 daily infrastructure surcharge on temporary work visas. ACT says the charge would fund infrastructure strained by migration, linking visa policy directly to roads, services, and other capacity pressures that have become part of the political argument around population growth.
The surcharge gives the proposal a fiscal edge as well as a political one. Rather than treating migration solely as a labour market question, the party is presenting it as a question of who pays for the public systems that support a growing population.
ACT also wants a five-year welfare stand-down for new residence visa migrants. The restriction would bar new residence-class visa holders from social welfare during their first five years, a measure the party is using to draw a firmer line between entry to the country and access to state support.
That welfare proposal sits alongside the party’s broader claim that immigration settings should favour contribution. The policy is framed as an attempt to balance economic needs with public concerns over capacity and social cohesion.
Enforcement forms another large part of the package. ACT says it would create an Immigration New Zealand overstayer taskforce to target visa overstayers, a move that would put a named administrative unit behind an area often used as shorthand in immigration politics for gaps between visa rules and actual compliance.
The plan would also strengthen English language requirements for visa applicants. Alongside that, ACT says it would enhance overall enforcement to prioritize contributors who respect New Zealand’s democratic values.
Taken together, the measures show how David Seymour is trying to mark out a distinct immigration position before voters next go to the polls. The proposal is designed to differentiate the ACT Party on immigration ahead of elections while tying stricter enforcement, welfare limits and the $6 daily infrastructure surcharge to a wider argument about capacity, contribution and social cohesion in New Zealand.
