Tongan overstayers warned over immigration scam 

Source: ONE News

• WATCH the video (1:51)

Some Ngapuhi leaders are distancing themselves from a scheme that promises Tongan overstayers that "adoption" into a hapu will give them New Zealand citizenship.

Hundreds of overstayers are expected to head to Waitangi this weekend after being told they can get citizenship by being adopted into the Maori hapu, in exchange for $1,000.

The speaker of Te Tii lower marae, Kingi Taurua, says he wants to form an alliance with Pacific people and that includes protecting overstayers from deportation by adopting them into his hapu.

"My idea is to see if we can actually accept these people, these overstayers into our hapu," he says.

But not everyone agrees with him.

"That the host hapu or the spokesperson for the host hapu is peddling these outrageous ideas - that is a surprise and rather sad, frankly, because they don't stand up to scrutiny in this country," says Sonny Tau, Ngapuhi Runanga chairman.

Also muddying the waters, is that unknown to Taurua, the Tongans working with him publicly announced they would charge a fee of $1,000 per person, which is illegal. They have since backed away from this and are now asking for a donation instead.

Government officials have reacted swiftly.

Minister of Immigration Jonathan Coleman is urging Tongan overstayers not to be sucked in to what he is calling an immigration scam.

Coleman says such a move will not confer citizenship on anyone and the only way to get residency is through Immigration New Zealand.

"I cannot state strongly enough that the only path to residence or citizenship is through the New Zealand government," he says in a statement.

Coleman says anyone who has been approached by those pushing the hapu adoption scheme should contact the police.