44 per cent of migrant pleas succeed

The Immigration Service got it wrong in about a third of cases where people appealed against being denied residency, the Residence Review Board says.

The board said in its annual report to June that it received 372 appeals in the year compared to 408 in 2004-05.

It tackled a backlog of outstanding appeals and said it was getting decisions out faster.

It made 635 decisions in the year, and of these 56 per cent (356) of appeals were dismissed. Another 279 (44 per cent) of appeals were successful in one way or another.

The successful appeals included 227 (36 per cent) where the Immigration Service "was incorrect".

- NZPA