Tonga leads overstayer statistics as lawyer blames governments' broken promises

A Tongan lawyer says data from Immigration New Zealand showing Tonga has the highest number of overstayers in the country is “no surprise”.

The latest data from INZ reveals that Tonga has a total of 2599 overstayers, followed closely by China with 2577, and Sāmoa with 1697.

Nalesoni Tupou, a family and immigration lawyer since 1987, attributes this to the failures of both Tongan leaders and successive New Zealand governments, who he claims have broken promises over the years.

Tupou says the recent figures are “no surprise”, adding that they have remained consistent for over 40 years.

“The Tongan government has done nothing about it,” he says. “The Tongan government is entitled to whatever they want, but at the same time, the Labour and National governments have not been very forgiving to the Tongan overstayers."

Between July 2023 and June 2025, Tonga recorded the highest percentage of overstayers in New Zealand with 472 individuals, representing 1.93 per cent of its 24,425 temporary visa arrivals. Sāmoa recorded 382 overstayers or 1.6 per cent of 23,075 individuals.

Immigration New Zealand (INZ) is the government agency responsible for managing New Zealand's immigration system, which includes processing visa applications for visitors, workers, and migrants. Photo/Supplied

INZ estimates that the total number of overstayers currently stands at around 20,980.

Steve Watson, the General Manager of Immigration Compliance and Investigations, says the number of overstayers is a small proportion of the temporary migrants arriving in New Zealand annually.

“Each year, New Zealand processes around one million visa applications and 1.6 million New Zealand Electronic Travel Authority requests and sees approximately 3.6 million arrivals from non-New Zealand citizens each year,” Watson says.

General manager Immigration Compliance and Investigations, Steve Watson. Photo/Supplied

“While the vast majority of people comply with their visa conditions and leave before the expiry of their visa, unfortunately, some people do not leave and consequently remain in New Zealand unlawfully.”

Tupou believes the New Zealand Government should provide more leniency for overstayers to legalise their status, especially if they are skilled, in good health, and have a clean record.

But he remains pessimistic about the likelihood of change, saying, “Unfortunately, the New Zealand National Government and the Labour [Party] are not of any good use to the Pacific Islanders, and that's in the immigration policies.”

Listen to Nalesoni Tupou's full interview below.