National says a Labour announcement to grant amnesty to overstayers sends the "wrong message" and is a "slap in the face" to those who have followed the rules.
It follows Labour's announcement on Saturday it would, if elected, "make good on the dawn raids apology" by providing a one-off overstayer visa for Pacific and other migrants who have been in New Zealand for more than 10 years.
But National's immigration spokesperson Erica Stanford today said the "blanket amnesty" was a "bad policy" and her party did not support it.
"Past experiences show that this policy will increase the number of migrants illegally overstaying their visa as they see the potential for future amnesties, and it will undermine the integrity of our immigration system that relies on rules being followed.
"Just last month Immigration Minister Andrew Little told Parliament exactly that saying, 'we have to think about the signal that we're giving to people if they think, oh, gee, this is a government that just routinely gives amnesties. If we stick around long enough, we'll be OK.'"
Stanford said it was also unclear how the amnesty related to the Dawn Raid apology when it applied to all overstayers regardless of ethnicity, and three previous amnesties have been granted since 1987 including one in 2000 for well-settled overstayers.
"Labour's priorities in immigration are completely back to front and instead of rewarding up to 20,000 illegal migrants, we should be rewarding the majority of migrants who have played by the rules and done the right thing."
She said National's immigration priority was focused on attracting the skilled migrants New Zealand needed to build a stronger economy that lifted incomes and provided better public services like health and education.
"In the past few weeks alone National has announced immigration policies to plug our skill shortages in sectors like tourism and agriculture, kick start our international education sector and boost our tech sector by attracting the world's top tech talent to New Zealand.
"National will also make it easier for parents and grandparents of migrants to reconnect with their family in New Zealand by introducing the Parent Visa Boost a multiple entry five year visa with renewal possible for a further five years."
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