The move would allow the Five Eyes nations to request information by sharing fingerprints. Photo: RNZ
The Five Eyes countries are considering whether they can run checks on each other's criminal databases.
The New Zealand government says the proposal is in early stages, including the issue of whether it would be legal.
The move would allow the United States, Australia, New Zealand, Canada and the UK to request information by sharing fingerprints while they process visa applications and refugee claims.
A statement to RNZ did not answer whether the checks would be on citizens of the five countries.
The latest meetings of the Criminal Database Checking (CDC) group - detailed in a briefing to immigration minister Erica Stanford - took place in March in Wellington.
"The purpose of the CDC meeting was to discuss a proposal that M5 countries be able to query the domestic criminal databases of their partners for visa applications, and for other immigration purposes such as refugee status claims."
It was the first face-to-face meeting of the newly formed CDC and described discussions as "very much in the early stages".
The proposal was put forward by the Five Countries Ministerial in 2021, also hosted by New Zealand.
Stanford said in a statement that Immigration New Zealand's (INZ) involvement in Migration 5 (M5) improved its effectiveness and the integrity of decisions.
"I am advised the Criminal Database Checking subgroup is in the early stages of scoping when and why a country may need to query another country's criminal databases, and if that is legally possible. I understand the CDC is considering all options in the early stages of scoping this work."
She added that if the work was to progress, countries would not have direct access to each other's criminal databases, instead making requests for information using fingerprints.
The CDC is a subgroup of the M5 Data Sharing Working Group (DSWG), and members of INZ and MBIE's Digital, Data and Insights group hosted their March meetings.
M5 began 15 years as the Five Country Conference, signing data-sharing agreements that now allow governments to check millions of migrants' and travellers' fingerprints each year.
Other five-nation groups include the Five Eyes Law Enforcement Group, and M5 forums that cover customs, infrastructure and technology.
INZ has previously stressed that it does not share citizens' data.