Entry Permits Explained

Press, Volume CIV, Issue 30736, 28 April 1965, Page 3

Entry Permits Explained

(N Z. Press Association) WELLINGTON, April 27., The Minister of Labour (Mr Shand) said today that the pianist Winifred Atwell was obviously not very familiar with New Zealand when she said that there were “white New Zealand” immigration laws.

Miss Atwell said in Auckland at the week-end that New Zealand officials in Sydney would not grant her an ;entry permit till they had seen her return air tickets. These were being held for her in Auckland and she had had to cable her show management “frantically” to send the tickets across. Mr Shand said Miss Atwell had been subjected to the normal procedure for visitors to this country. He felt, however, that her. difficulty had been caused by! a young and excessively can-! tious official in Sydney. A. more experienced officer; would have known that a per-

son such as Miss Atwell would have been visiting New Zealand only and not trying to settle here. The fact that New Zealand had a thriving Chinese and Indian population was the answer to any suggestion that she had been the victim of any racial discrimination. The normal rule was that all people other than New

Zealand citizens intending to visit this country must apply for a visitor’s entry permit, said Mr Shand. , To be granted permits they were theoretically obliged to produce tickets to a destination beyond New Zealand. The Immigration Restriction Amendment Act, 1961, which came into force on January 1, 1962, repealed the right of “persons of British birth and parentage” from entering New Zealand without a permit and substituted the words “New Zealand citizen." Legislation provides only for New Zealand citizens, members of the armed forces, crews of ships on the New Zealand coast, crews of aircraft and members of the Diplomatic Corps to enter the Dominion without a permit. This act. however, does not apply to Australian citizens. Under a diplomatic agreement. Australian citizens need no passports or permits to enter New Zealand. “We have a considerable non-European population and there is tremendous pressure from non-Europeans to migrate to New Zealand,” Mr Shand said.