2014/2015 Financial Year Month Visa Penal Jul 1 1 Aug 0 1 Sep 1 1 Oct 0 1 Nov 1 1 Dec 0 1 Jan 0 0 Feb 0 0 Mar Apr May Jun Total 3 6 MRRC 1 1 0 1 1 2 0 1 7 Totals 3 2 2 2 3 3 0 1 0 0 0 0 16 169 Foreign nationals already detained in a prison under section 310 of the Immigration Act 2009 (“Immigration Act”) can claim asylum, but must do so within two days of being taken into custody. In these cases, refugee and protection officers have access to the prison to interview them and are encouraged to make a decision as quickly as possible, ideally within 20 weeks. Claimants remain detained in prison until a decision is made, at which point they are released if granted refugee status. 170 Asylum seekers can appeal to the Immigration and Protection Tribunal if their claims are rejected. For those detained in a prison, the appeal must be made within five working days of the decision, while in all other instances the deadline is 10 working days. Legal aid is also available to those wanting to challenge their detention, a significant change provided for through the 2009 amendments to the Immigration Act. Police cells 171 Under the 2009 Act any police station in New Zealand can be used to detain a person without a warrant of commitment for up to 96 hours including both undocumented migrants and asylum seekers whose identity is uncertain. Under the previous immigration act detention could only last up to 72 hours. Individuals reportedly are generally detained at police stations for no longer than 24-48 hours. Page 47 of 93 Human Rights Commission submission to the Human Rights Committee in relation to New Zealand’s 6th periodic review under the ICCPR