Fines that have not been paid may prevent you from leaving New Zealand. You may be denied entry to any New Zealand international airport if you owe outstanding fines or reparations. So pay what you owe right away, and you’ll be able to travel like everyone else.
Can you leave NZ with unpaid fines?
If you try to leave or enter New Zealand with unpaid fines, the police may detain you at the airport. If you need to fly within the next 48 hours and have unpaid fines or reparations, call 0800 729 677 to pay with a credit card.
Can you travel with debts?
Local authorities may detain New Zealanders with unpaid debts abroad when they arrive at the airport, including while in transit. You can also be stopped from leaving until a bill is paid or a dispute is addressed. Unpaid lodging bills from earlier visits, medical fees, missed loan repayments, rejected checks, and unresolved commercial and civil problems are examples of this. Prior to returning to New Zealand, we encourage all New Zealanders to pay off any debts, including bill payments.
Can Nzers travel overseas?
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, accompanying health risks, and widespread travel restrictions, we now advise all New Zealanders not to go overseas at this time. Except for the Cook Islands, it currently applies to all international locations (due to the quarantine-free travel arrangement ).
Can you leave NZ if you owe child support?
If child support is outstanding, the Inland Revenue Department can ban the paying parent from departing New Zealand. The reason for this is that New Zealand Customs and Inland Revenue have an information-sharing arrangement.
If you’re a responsible parent planning a trip abroad, check with Inland Revenue to make sure your payment responsibilities are current before you go.
The reason I’m writing this blog post is that I was approached today by a criminal defense attorney who had a defendant in custody with exactly this issue.
General procedure when a person is arrested
The liable person is usually brought before the District Court, which may make one of the following directions under ss199(2) if it is satisfied that the liable or paying person is likely to leave New Zealand with the intent of evading payment of any liability under the Act:
- An order requiring the liable person to provide security for the payment of the liability in the amount specified by the Court (this might be a passport for example).
- An order prohibiting the culpable individual from leaving New Zealand without the Court’s written consent.
- An order requiring the culpable person to submit any tickets or travel documents in his or her possession to the Court for the term specified by the Court.
Every person who, after an order is made under (2)(b) is enforced, departs New Zealand or seeks to leave New Zealand commits an offence and is liable to a conviction of imprisonment for not more than three months or a fine of not more than $2,000 under subsection (4). There are also options for enforcing spousal maintenance nonpayment, which are discussed individually on this website. Contact Jeremy Sutton for more information about Child Support.
How long can a debt be chased in New Zealand?
A lender typically has only six years to recover a debt. Unless you admit the debt or pay a portion of it, the time limit begins when you acknowledge the debt or make the last payment, in which case it begins when you acknowledge the debt or make the last payment.
- If you stopped making payments on or after January 1, 2011 (or if you weren’t obligated to make any payments until 2011), the lender usually has six years to collect.
- If you last made a payment before 2011, the debt must be recovered from you within six years if it stems from a basic contract. The time limit is 12 years if the obligation is acknowledged in a deed (for example, a hire-purchase contract may be in the form of a deed). (Section 9 of the Property Law Act 2007 lays out the prerequisites for a deed.) The time restrictions begin when the obligation is due, unless the debt has been acknowledged or partially paid, in which case the time limit begins on the date of acknowledgement or the final partial payment.
How court judgments are enforced
When a lender obtains a court ruling that you owe a debt, they can seek an order to enforce the decision. The various enforcement mechanisms are described below.
Can debt stop you from leaving the country?
Your debt does not follow you when you leave your home to travel to another country. Although you are still in debt and the amount owed does not suddenly disappear, you do not carry it.
Student loans
You may be barred from leaving New Zealand or jailed upon your return if you fail on your student loan repayments. According to the IRD, this is a very last resort, and the borrower is contacted and repayment arrangements are negotiated in advance. If you are a persistent defaulter, you should contact the IRD to discuss repayment options. In the event of financial hardship, you can also seek for debt relief.
The IRD is notified when a defaulter applies for a passport as a result of an information sharing arrangement with the DIA (Department of Internal Affairs). Because Australia and New Zealand have an information-sharing agreement, your contact information in Australia may be shared across the ditch.
Child support
If you are in substantial default on your child support payments, you may be arrested at the border when you return to New Zealand, just like student loan defaulters. When liable parents with outstanding debt travel in or out of the country, the IRD is notified.
NZ and Australia have a reciprocal arrangement, which means that child support is calculated based on your Australian income and must be paid on a monthly basis, even if the children live in NZ. If it is not paid, the IRD will continue its collection attempts. If unsuccessful, the debt is referred to Australia’s Department of Human Services (DHS). They will then take over debt collection, which will be deducted from your earnings.
Legal aid debt
Legal aid is treated as a loan. You must pay it back. Interest on your legal aid debt begins to accrue six months after the case is closed. If it is determined that legal aid is causing substantial hardship, it might be revoked. Because this is a government debt, it may prevent you from traveling to and from New Zealand.
Overdue tax payments and penalties
Overdue tax bills, like other government debts, might prevent you from leaving the nation or cause you to be detained upon your return. This includes any WINZ benefit overpayments or money owed to working for families that must be repaid. Any money owed to WINZ will be deducted from your pension if you get an Australian pension.
Unpaid court fines
Court fines do not vanish just because you haven’t paid them. Police may detain you at the airport if you attempt to leave or return to New Zealand. You can pay by credit card over the phone at any time by dialing 0800 729 677.
If you do not pay, you may be arrested, your passport seized, and you may be summoned to court. If you set up a payment plan to pay your fines and it falls through while you’re in Australia, the friendly constabulary may greet you at the airport.
Remember that unpaid fines are subject to penalties, so your debt will rise while you ignore it.
What do I have to do to leave the country?
A passport is all you need for short-term travel to most countries. If you intend to stay for an extended amount of time, you will require a visa. The maximum number of days you can remain without a visa varies per nation, however many countries allow Americans to travel for up to 90 days without a visa for business or pleasure. However, other nations, including as China, the Russian Federation, and a number of Asian, African, and Middle Eastern countries, require all visitors to obtain a visa before entering. Check the visa requirements for your location on the State Department’s website, travel.state.gov, and learn how to apply for a visa. To obtain a visa, you may need to travel to the country’s embassy in the United States.
Do you have to book quarantine in NZ?
Before reserving a MIQ accommodation, the government has decided that all visitors must have the legal permission to enter New Zealand. Before booking a room, all passengers must have their travel documents confirmed.
Can you go to jail if you don’t pay child support?
In summary, if you do not pay your court-ordered child support, you may face jail time. The good news is that you’ll have multiple opportunities to correct the problem and make up the payments you’ve missed.
Your debt may be reported to a credit agency if you are more than 30 days late on a child support payment. You may be contacted by the credit agency in order to collect on those past-due payments.
- Allow your support payments to be taken from any money owed to you by the state or any lottery winnings.
If you have exhausted all of these options and still haven’t paid your child support, the court may find you in contempt of court. Only if the court judges that you were able to pay but refused to do so will you be held in contempt. If the Department of Revenue (DOR) is enforcing your child support order, it will take a number of steps before declaring you in contempt of court, which can result in penalties like as paying a substantial sum and/or serving time in prison. Judges have a lot of leeway when it comes to imposing punishments on those who are convicted in contempt of court. You could be sentenced to up to five months and 29 days in prison.
