NZ Herald
  • Home
  • Latest news
  • Herald NOW
  • Video
  • New Zealand
  • Sport
  • World
  • Business
  • Entertainment
  • Podcasts
  • Quizzes
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Travel
  • Viva
  • Weather

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • New Zealand
    • All New Zealand
    • Crime
    • Politics
    • Education
    • Open Justice
    • Scam Update
  • Herald NOW
  • On The Up
  • World
    • All World
    • Australia
    • Asia
    • UK
    • United States
    • Middle East
    • Europe
    • Pacific
  • Business
    • All Business
    • MarketsSharesCurrencyCommoditiesStock TakesCrypto
    • Markets with Madison
    • Media Insider
    • Business analysis
    • Personal financeKiwiSaverInterest ratesTaxInvestment
    • EconomyInflationGDPOfficial cash rateEmployment
    • Small business
    • Business reportsMood of the BoardroomProject AucklandSustainable business and financeCapital markets reportAgribusiness reportInfrastructure reportDynamic business
    • Deloitte Top 200 Awards
    • CompaniesAged CareAgribusinessAirlinesBanking and financeConstructionEnergyFreight and logisticsHealthcareManufacturingMedia and MarketingRetailTelecommunicationsTourism
  • Opinion
    • All Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Editorials
    • Business analysis
    • Premium opinion
    • Letters to the editor
  • Politics
  • Sport
    • All Sport
    • OlympicsParalympics
    • RugbySuper RugbyNPCAll BlacksBlack FernsRugby sevensSchool rugby
    • CricketBlack CapsWhite Ferns
    • Racing
    • NetballSilver Ferns
    • LeagueWarriorsNRL
    • FootballWellington PhoenixAuckland FCAll WhitesFootball FernsEnglish Premier League
    • GolfNZ Open
    • MotorsportFormula 1
    • Boxing
    • UFC
    • BasketballNBABreakersTall BlacksTall Ferns
    • Tennis
    • Cycling
    • Athletics
    • SailingAmerica's CupSailGP
    • Rowing
  • Lifestyle
    • All Lifestyle
    • Viva - Food, fashion & beauty
    • Society Insider
    • Royals
    • Sex & relationships
    • Food & drinkRecipesRecipe collectionsRestaurant reviewsRestaurant bookings
    • Health & wellbeing
    • Fashion & beauty
    • Pets & animals
    • The Selection - Shop the trendsShop fashionShop beautyShop entertainmentShop giftsShop home & living
    • Milford's Investing Place
  • Entertainment
    • All Entertainment
    • TV
    • MoviesMovie reviews
    • MusicMusic reviews
    • BooksBook reviews
    • Culture
    • ReviewsBook reviewsMovie reviewsMusic reviewsRestaurant reviews
  • Travel
    • All Travel
    • News
    • New ZealandNorthlandAucklandWellingtonCanterburyOtago / QueenstownNelson-TasmanBest NZ beaches
    • International travelAustraliaPacific IslandsEuropeUKUSAAfricaAsia
    • Rail holidays
    • Cruise holidays
    • Ski holidays
    • Luxury travel
    • Adventure travel
  • Kāhu Māori news
  • Environment
    • All Environment
    • Our Green Future
  • Talanoa Pacific news
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Property Insider
    • Interest rates tracker
    • Residential property listings
    • Commercial property listings
  • Health
  • Technology
    • All Technology
    • AI
    • Social media
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology
    • Opinion
    • Audio & podcasts
  • Weather forecasts
    • All Weather forecasts
    • Kaitaia
    • Whangārei
    • Dargaville
    • Auckland
    • Thames
    • Tauranga
    • Hamilton
    • Whakatāne
    • Rotorua
    • Tokoroa
    • Te Kuiti
    • Taumaranui
    • Taupō
    • Gisborne
    • New Plymouth
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Dannevirke
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Levin
    • Paraparaumu
    • Masterton
    • Wellington
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Blenheim
    • Westport
    • Reefton
    • Kaikōura
    • Greymouth
    • Hokitika
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
    • Wānaka
    • Oamaru
    • Queenstown
    • Dunedin
    • Gore
    • Invercargill
  • Meet the journalists
  • Promotions & competitions
  • OneRoof property listings
  • Driven car news

Puzzles & Quizzes

  • Puzzles
    • All Puzzles
    • Sudoku
    • Code Cracker
    • Crosswords
    • Cryptic crossword
    • Wordsearch
  • Quizzes
    • All Quizzes
    • Morning quiz
    • Afternoon quiz
    • Sports quiz

Regions

  • Northland
    • All Northland
    • Far North
    • Kaitaia
    • Kerikeri
    • Kaikohe
    • Bay of Islands
    • Whangarei
    • Dargaville
    • Kaipara
    • Mangawhai
  • Auckland
  • Waikato
    • All Waikato
    • Hamilton
    • Coromandel & Hauraki
    • Matamata & Piako
    • Cambridge
    • Te Awamutu
    • Tokoroa & South Waikato
    • Taupō & Tūrangi
  • Bay of Plenty
    • All Bay of Plenty
    • Katikati
    • Tauranga
    • Mount Maunganui
    • Pāpāmoa
    • Te Puke
    • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua
  • Hawke's Bay
    • All Hawke's Bay
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Havelock North
    • Central Hawke's Bay
    • Wairoa
  • Taranaki
    • All Taranaki
    • Stratford
    • New Plymouth
    • Hāwera
  • Manawatū - Whanganui
    • All Manawatū - Whanganui
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Manawatū
    • Tararua
    • Horowhenua
  • Wellington
    • All Wellington
    • Kapiti
    • Wairarapa
    • Upper Hutt
    • Lower Hutt
  • Nelson & Tasman
    • All Nelson & Tasman
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Tasman
  • Marlborough
  • West Coast
  • Canterbury
    • All Canterbury
    • Kaikōura
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
  • Otago
    • All Otago
    • Oamaru
    • Dunedin
    • Balclutha
    • Alexandra
    • Queenstown
    • Wanaka
  • Southland
    • All Southland
    • Invercargill
    • Gore
    • Stewart Island
  • Gisborne

Media

  • Video
    • All Video
    • NZ news video
    • Herald NOW
    • Business news video
    • Politics news video
    • Sport video
    • World news video
    • Lifestyle video
    • Entertainment video
    • Travel video
    • Markets with Madison
    • Kea Kids news
  • Podcasts
    • All Podcasts
    • The Front Page
    • On the Tiles
    • Ask me Anything
    • The Little Things
  • Cartoons
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / New Zealand

High priced visitors: The cost of keeping foreigners in NZ jails revealed

Sam Hurley
By Sam Hurley
NZ Herald Print Editor·NZ Herald·
3 Jan, 2018 04:00 PM4 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

Corrections said the average cost of housing a sentenced prisoner is $302 per day. Photo / File

Corrections said the average cost of housing a sentenced prisoner is $302 per day. Photo / File

New Zealand's prisons contain more than 320 foreign citizens costing taxpayers more than $33.7 million a year, including two mystery men who were chased across Europe by Interpol.

The Herald can reveal that the duo were jailed after Kiwi authorities discovered a well-planned con at Immigration New Zealand's London office. They were each jailed for 18 months in mid-November and joined the other 323 foreigners currently populating New Zealand's prisons.

Although Corrections does not actively collect information about citizenship or the country of birth of prisoners taken into custody, it does ask them to identify ethnicity.

Data released to the Herald shows the number of people identifying as foreign citizens who were sentenced to serve time in New Zealand prisons last year is more than 160.

For the year to December, 162 foreign citizens were jailed and remain behind bars — while 53 are still serving prison terms beginning in 2016 and 22 from 2015.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

There is also a foreign prisoner who began their sentence in 1987 - the longest current term.

As of December, a total of 323 foreign citizens were in Corrections' custody, with 252 of those convicted and/or sentenced.

Those convicted included 88 for violence offending, 67 for sexual offending, 51 for drugs offending, 10 for dishonesty offending, and two for weapons crimes.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

As of December, 71 foreign prisoners were awaiting trial or further court hearings.

Corrections said the average cost of housing a sentenced prisoner was $302 a day, while a prisoner on remand awaiting trial or a future court hearing cost $231 per day.

The combined cost of housing the 323 prisoners annually was $33,764,325.

Auckland South Corrections Facility held the most foreign offenders (72), followed by Mt Eden Prison (43), Rimutaka (34), Auckland Prison (30), and Spring Hill (30).

Discover more

New Zealand|crime

Kiwi jailed in a foreign land: 'I fought for victims of this catastrophe'

18 Jan 05:01 AM
World

Spain route growing gateway to Europe

05 Jan 04:00 PM
New Zealand

Drugs in prison: 1179 inmates test positive

11 Jan 04:00 PM
New Zealand|crime

How did a banned criminal slip into NZ?

26 Jan 04:00 AM

Prisoners identifying as foreign citizens usually do so to seek consular assistance from their home country.

The true identity of the duo jailed in November remains a mystery, with law enforcers in France and Hungary having linked several aliases to the pair for crimes across Europe.

When they appeared in the Auckland District Court for sentencing they went under the names Jozsef Botos, 35, and Peter Vajda, 41.

Court documents show Vajda had a fake passport, purporting to be that of a Hungarian national, and had used it at New Zealand House in London.

Botos used a forged letter of employment to support a temporary visa application. According to court documents the letter was said to have come from the company Kesz & Go, a car rental service in Hungary.

Both men arrived in New Zealand last April 19 under a three-month visitor visa and claimed they were here for "some sightseeing". However, on July 13 they were arrested under suspicion of defrauding Immigration New Zealand.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Inquiries with Interpol in Paris and the Romanian capital of Bucharest showed Botos' fingerprints matched the names of several men on records.

Further investigations found he had a history of fraud and receiving stolen goods in France.

At his sentencing the court heard that the true identities of both men remain a mystery.
Judge Nevin Dawson said the men's fraud had a "high-level of premeditation" to mislead New Zealand authorities and had jeopardised the integrity of the immigration process.

Police believed the men had arrived with the purpose of defrauding Kiwis in some way as they had done in Europe, aiming to slip out of the country before anyone realised what they were up to.

Detective Senior Sergeant Bridget Doell told the Herald the men's arrests were a result of a joint agency investigation which shared information about transnational organised crime groups entering our borders.

"Swift action led to their apprehension and prevention of further offending in New Zealand," she said.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

"MBIE [Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment] and NZ Police are satisfied that both men have been dealt with appropriately.

"We endeavour to work collaboratively to deter such individuals entering New Zealand to ensure New Zealand is protected from international fraud."

- An earlier version of this story incorrectly reported that 53 foreign citizens were jailed in 2016 and 22 in 2015. In fact 53 are still serving prison terms beginning in 2016 and 22 from 2015.

Save

    Share this article

Latest from New Zealand

Premium
Politics

Willis: Greens' claim of $700m KiwiSaver hole ‘wrong’, cost could be fraction of that

18 Jun 04:00 AM
New Zealand

The Country: Winston Peters on geopolitics

18 Jun 03:43 AM
PoliticsUpdated

Iwi leader rules out settlement under this Govt after minister’s sovereignty comments

18 Jun 03:28 AM

Jono and Ben brew up a tea-fuelled adventure in Sri Lanka

sponsored
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from New Zealand

Premium
Willis: Greens' claim of $700m KiwiSaver hole ‘wrong’, cost could be fraction of that

Willis: Greens' claim of $700m KiwiSaver hole ‘wrong’, cost could be fraction of that

18 Jun 04:00 AM

'More like in the quantum of between $100 and $200 million,' says Willis.

The Country: Winston Peters on geopolitics

The Country: Winston Peters on geopolitics

18 Jun 03:43 AM
Iwi leader rules out settlement under this Govt after minister’s sovereignty comments

Iwi leader rules out settlement under this Govt after minister’s sovereignty comments

18 Jun 03:28 AM
Premium
Top cop allowed failed recruits into police college

Top cop allowed failed recruits into police college

18 Jun 03:23 AM
Help for those helping hardest-hit
sponsored

Help for those helping hardest-hit

NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • NZ Herald e-editions
  • Daily puzzles & quizzes
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Subscribe to the NZ Herald newspaper
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • NZME Events
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP