The M5 Conviction-Sharing Plan Is on Ice: Why Your Visa Checks Are Still Serious

News · 2026-09-28 · 4 min read

Five big migration countries have put the brakes on a plan to swap their citizens' criminal conviction records. If you are weighing up work in New Zealand from South Africa, or a move to Australia, Canada, the UK or the US, here is what has stopped, what keeps running, and what you should do about it.

One paragraph to start with

Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and the United States make up the group called the Migration 5 (M5). In April 2026 their leaders agreed to pause work on exchanging conviction data about their own citizens. Do not read that as border screening getting softer. It has not.

Plenty of data still crosses borders

"Shelved" does not mean "nothing is shared." The M5 partners keep running automated biometric and identity exchanges. New Zealand has had agreements like this with most of its partners since the early 2010s; the UK is the one exception. In May 2025 the partners signed off a quality-control framework, and the first yearly reviews got going in early 2026. New Zealand's look back at the 2025 calendar year turned up no privacy breaches, no security problems with system access and no accidental or improper disclosures to partners.

Counting the requests

Numbers released under New Zealand's Official Information Act show how busy the exchange is:

From Australia to New Zealand: over one million traveller data requests in the year to April 2026, which led to 676 fingerprint matches.
From New Zealand to Canada, Australia and the UK: about 4,000 requests to each, giving 383, 340 and 283 positive matches in that order.
Canada and the US: their request figures were redacted, and New Zealand held back its requests to the US on international relations grounds.

A handful of matches against a mountain of requests tells you this is wide screening. It flags only a small slice of people, most likely those already known to the immigration authorities of another member country.

The proposal that stalled

According to RNZ's coverage, the M5's current arrangements were designed around identity data for migration, not criminal records. They do not send conviction records to New Zealand Police, and members do not trade details about their own nationals under them.

Later discussions tested something smaller: running anonymised fingerprint data against police or criminal record systems. New Zealand concluded that its current law gives foreign agencies no grounds to reach its police or court conviction data for immigration use. Immigration New Zealand's identity manager, Matt Gibbs, confirmed that no biometric data or conviction records were handed over in this trial stage. The working group behind it has not formally met since an online session in March 2025.

Blocked by law, not by lack of will

The plan did not die because nobody wanted it. It hit legal walls. Every member has its own privacy and criminal records laws, and none of them simply lets a partner's border agency dig into home court and police systems. Lawmakers would have to move first before anything like this comes back.

Five habits for a clean application

Get every detail right. Identity data already moves between countries, so a mismatch in your name, date of birth or travel history can show up on another system.
Own up to any record when asked. Even with no direct conviction exchange, visas usually call for police certificates and character declarations, and a false statement can mean refusal or a ban. For South Africans, that police certificate is the SAPS police clearance, so apply for it early.
See the pause as temporary. If the legal frameworks shift, governments can pick the idea up again.
File your paperwork properly. Earlier applications, refusals and travel documents carry more weight once identity data is shared across borders.
Get expert help if your past is complicated. Any old convictions or refusals? Talk to a registered migration agent or immigration lawyer before you lodge.

Straight talk for Mzansi job seekers

The M5 has backed away from sharing citizens' conviction records, yet the identity and biometric exchange is live and busy. Whether you are chasing jobs in Australia for South Africans or a role across the Tasman, the safest route is the same: be honest and consistent on every form you fill in.

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