18 Aug 2025

Should Māori born overseas automatically be NZ citizens?

From Checkpoint, 5:25 pm on 18 August 2025

Should all Māori born overseas automatically be New Zealand citizens? Currently, that is not how things work, and a father of three is fighting to change that. John Bryers Ruddock, who is Ngāpuhi, recently returned to Aotearoa with his three children. Currently his children are illegal overstayers here, meaning they can't even go to school. He is now navigating an expensive and bureaucratic process to get his tamariki Māori recognised as New Zealand citizens, complicated by the fact they were born in Hawaii, and John, a New Zealand citizen was born in Australia. John Bryers Ruddock spoke to Lisa Owen.