By Kang Shin-who
Staff Reporter
Four to five South Korean nationals have been banned from entering New Zealand a month on average since March 2005.
According to the Korean Consulate General there, a total of 286 Korean nationals have been denied entry by the country's immigration authorities over the last five years.
It cited unclear entrance purposes and shortage of travel money as the main reasons for the entry denials.
The tough screening reflects a move by New Zealand authorities to block the entry of Koreans seeking to study or work without securing the proper visa status.
Among the 286 Koreans who were banned from entering the country, 209 failed to get entry approval because they failed to provide evidence to verify their specific travel purposes.
Another 28 were turned away as they did not have enough money to travel, 14 had problems in the immigration process, and seven were rejected due to their criminal or deportation records.
The other eight Koreans were caught by the authorities with forged immigration documents.
Consulate General officials said that Korean travelers should prepare all necessary information, such as details of travel plans and accommodation and contact points, to avoid unnecessary suspicion from immigration officers.
A travel agent here said: "Travelers bound for New Zealand have to have specific reasons for their visit and documents proving their travel purposes in order to avoid unpleasant experiences."
Even those visiting their relatives in the country need to have enough travel money to avoid an entry ban.
The Korean population in New Zealand has increased to some 20,000 from the 930 in 1991.
However, Korean emigrants to the country started to drop after 1995 as the New Zealand government required Koreans to pass an English-language test as a condition for immigration.
The number of South Koreans who illegally stayed there fell to 419 last year from 456 in 2008, 492 in 2007 and 506 in 2006.
