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UK, Australia and New Zealand pause criminal record sharing: what visa applicants still need to declare

News · 2026-09-28 · 4 min read

If you are applying for a visa to Australia or New Zealand from the UK, you may have heard that the five countries in the Migration 5 group have dropped a plan to share criminal records. That is partly true. The full picture matters, because a lot of information is still exchanged, and the pause does not make anyone's background checks lighter.

Five countries, one paused plan

The Migration 5 (M5) is a group of five countries that cooperate on immigration and border matters: Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and the United States. Their leaders agreed in April 2026 to pause work on a proposed exchange of their own citizens' criminal conviction data.

From identity checks to fingerprints

The M5's existing arrangements were designed around identity data for migration, not criminal history. They do not send conviction records to New Zealand Police, and member countries do not use them to swap information about their own nationals.

More recent talks looked at a narrower idea: using anonymised fingerprint data to search police or criminal record systems. New Zealand concluded that its current law gives foreign agencies no basis to reach its police or court conviction data for immigration purposes. Immigration New Zealand confirmed that no biometric data or conviction records were exchanged during this exploratory stage. The working group has not formally met since an online session in March 2025.

Law, not lack of interest, stopped it

Every member has its own privacy and criminal records laws, and those laws do not automatically let another country's border agency look into its justice system. Any revived version of the plan would need lawmakers to change the rules first.

The exchange that carries on

Shelved does not mean no sharing. The M5 partners still run automated biometric and identity exchanges. New Zealand has had such agreements with most partners since the early 2010s, the UK being the exception. In May 2025 the partners agreed a quality-control framework, and the first annual reviews began in early 2026. New Zealand's review of the 2025 calendar year found no privacy breaches, no system access security problems and no accidental or improper disclosures to partners.

Figures released under New Zealand's Official Information Act show how busy the system is:

Figures for requests from Canada and the US were redacted, and New Zealand's requests to the US were withheld on international relations grounds. The low share of matches shows a broad screening tool that flags a small number of cases, most likely people already known to another member's immigration authorities.

What UK applicants should do

• Get every detail right. Identity data already moves between systems, so a mismatch in your name, date of birth or travel history can show up elsewhere.
• Declare criminal history when asked. Visa applications usually ask for police certificates and character declarations, and false answers can lead to a refusal or a ban. When a UK police certificate is requested, it comes from ACRO Criminal Records Office.
• Treat the pause as temporary. Governments can return to the idea if the law changes.
• Keep your records in order. Earlier visa applications, any refusals and old passports matter more when identity data is shared.
• Get professional advice for a complicated history. If you have past convictions or refusals, get advice from a qualified migration adviser or an immigration lawyer before you apply.

You can read the character and other requirements on the official Immigration New Zealand website and the Department of Home Affairs website.

The short answer

Sharing of citizens' convictions is on hold, but the identity and biometric exchange is active and well used. Honest, consistent answers on every application remain the safest approach.

For more on applying, read how visa processing priorities work and what New Zealand's visa system glitches mean for applicants, or browse current jobs.

#criminal records #migration 5 #visa applications #character checks #acro #new zealand