The rowdy tourists who allegedly abused Takapuna beachgoers and ripped off restaurants have been served with a deportation liability notice and may not be allowed back into New Zealand for at least five years, according to a leading immigration lawyer.
The group, who hit the headlines after littering at the North Shore beach, were at a Hamilton Burger King on Tuesday when staff phoned police when the tourists began causing trouble.
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When officers arrived at the scene, immigration officers were with them, ready to serve the tourists with a Deportation Liability Notice (DLN)
"You have 14 days to appeal to Immigration NZ on why you should remain in New Zealand or 28 to appeal to the Immigration and Protection Tribunal," they were told.
Peter Devoy, Assistant General Manager for Immigration New Zealand, told Newshub that Section 157(5) of the Immigration Act 2009 meant temporary visa holders could be issued with a DLN on several grounds, including for matters relating to character.
Simon Laurent, principal for Laurent Law, told Newshub the section of the Act referring to "other matters relating to character" could be applied if complaints had been raised about the visitors.
"It's open door for [Immigration NZ] to say 'they haven't been charged with anything but they are undesirables, we think they might have committed offences, they might have been disturbing the peace' even if they haven't been taken to court," said Mr Laurent.
Temporary visa holders could also be served a notice under a "criminal offending" provision.
"That means they say that 'we feel there has been criminal offending, the courts haven't decided that finally, but we believe this offending has taken place because there is a weight of evidence behind it' or whatever it might be."
If individuals served with a DLN were deported "there would be a prohibition on them coming back into the country, there is a five year ban," said Mr Laurent.
"Whenever they apply for a visa for anywhere else, or they try to enter some other country and they're asked if they have ever been deported, well they're going to have to say yes, and they could be stopped at the border," he said.
Mr Laurent said technically the Minister of Immigration was the individual empowered to deport someone, but decisions of this nature were often delegated out to appropriate level immigration staff.
The notice was served after days of destruction down the country.
On Monday, the group tried to trade their two vehicles in for one at a Hamilton car dealership.
But when staff checked the van they found five children in the back, but no seats. The group were also acting with their now trademark aggression.
"He was pretty arrogant, soon as he walked in, he approached my boss with a rude voice and rarked everyone up, a lot of arrogance on his side," said Wiremu, a staff member at the dealership.
Stories like this continue to emerge from their time in Auckland, with Coffee Club just one of the businesses claiming the group left without paying their bill.
At the apartment they called home for a week there has been thousands of dollars' worth of damage.
Sufi Muhammad, Star Queens Service Apartment manager, said: "she didn't pay for Saturday, and on Saturday the apartment was totally mess, broken television even the toilet was leaking".
He said the group requested a year-long lease but were instead offered a studio apartment for a week why they accepted before breaking into a bigger apartment and making themselves home.
Mr Muhammad said he felt intimidated and threatened, and when they started stealing cleaning equipment and linen he asked them to leave.
But on Tuesday they claimed they were the victims and say one of their children was assaulted at Takapuna Beach.
Speaking to NZME, one of the group members, John Johnson, said his eight-year-old nephew was "slapped" by another boy at the North Shore beach and as they left intimidated, were abused by other beachgoers.
Another member of the group, David, also denied the travellers were Irish gypsies and were instead English citizens in New Zealand for a two week holiday.
But those plans now seem to have been cut short, with the group planning to head off on Wednesday.
Newshub.
