An immigration squad is investigating thousands of visa applicants in a bid to reduce New Zealand's exposure to the threat of terrorism.
Of those under investigation there are 500 who could be linked to the spread of weapons of mass destruction.
In a troubled world more and more people are seeking refuge in New Zealand. But there is increased concern some of those people could pose a threat to national security.
Documents obtained under freedom of information laws show officials are expecting to investigate 500 visa applications from people they fear have links to the spread of weapons of mass destruction.
"The point here is that a number of specialist expertise or disciplines - physicists might be one group - have skills that could in the wrong hands be used for WMD purposes," says Immigration Minister David Cunliffe.
The work is being carried out by an Immigration Profiling Group set up to look at visa applications from 21 high risk countries, which haven't been revelaed so as not to damage foreign relations. The group is looking at 7,500 applications a year and is turning down a quarter of them.
In the past just one in 10 visa applications were declined.
National foreign affairs spokesman Murray McCully says that suggests in the past Immigration has been lax with who was let in to New Zealand.
"So we've got people wandering around New Zealand who would not be allowed in under the criteria today," says McCully
But Cunliffe says things have changed since September 11.
"We now live in a post 9/11 world and the systems and processes that are appropriate and proper now are different and tighter than those that applied earlier," says Cunliffe.
Regardless, the immigration group is also going back over decisions to allow people in from high risk countries. It is trawling over 2,000 cases a year and expects about 360 people a year have been coming in on fraudulent grounds.
"The message to those people coming to New Zealand is it pays to be honest and it pays to come here for the right reasons," says Cunliffe.
But the opposition is not convinced. McCully believes New Zealand has a big problem in terms of security especially relating to terrorism.
