Car licences for illegal immigrants

By EUGENE BINGHAM

Immigrants are being issued driving licences even when there is evidence they are in the country illegally.

Although licence issuing agents have raised concerns, they have been told to approve applications from people whose foreign passports show their visas have expired.

National's law and order spokesman, Tony Ryall, says it is a scam being exploited by overstayers and others "To get an official New Zealand ID".

"Drivers' licences are more than just permission to drive. They are an official form of identification which can be used for all sorts of purposes."

A driver's licence can be used to obtain an Inland Revenue Department number and do a range of other things, including opening bank accounts.

The issue is linked to last week's Weekend Herald revelations of major tax fraud in the horticulture industry, where migrant workers have fleeced New Zealand of about $30 million.

The racket, which was discovered particularly in the Tauranga-Te Puke area, has involved people using false and genuine forms of identification to set up contracting businesses and obtain IRD numbers.

Fifty people are under investigation for tax evasion, but many are known to have left the country without having paid any tax.

Mr Ryall said he had spoken to licence issuing agents in the Bay of Plenty who were concerned about dealing with applications from people whose passports showed they were not entitled to be in the country.

"They have rung authorities to alert them to an illegal immigrant applying for a licence but have been told to issue the licence anyway."

In an answer to a written question in Parliament, Transport Minister Paul Swain confirmed that there was no requirement for someone's immigration status to be checked before he or she obtained a licence.

"For this reason the Land Transport Safety Authority does not request information on the immigration status of licence applicants," said Mr Swain.

Authority spokesman Andy Knackstedt said the issue dated back to the debate surrounding the switch to photo licences.

"When photo licences were brought in there was a huge amount of concern over privacy issues and as a result of that there were some pretty deliberate decisions made to limit the sorts of information that agents can ask for," he said.

"When you convert to a New Zealand licence you've got to front up with proper ID but that wouldn't include a check of the person's immigration status.

"That would be dealt with separately because immigration is a matter for the Immigration Service."

Mr Ryall said the rules should be changed to make it a requirement that licences should be issued only to people legally entitled to be in the country.

* Email Eugene Bingham