Pacific Island leaders want an Immigration Commission to be set up to review contentious decisions.
The suggestion came at a meeting with senior immigration officials in Manukau City on Wednesday night where Pacific Island leaders vented frustration about what they call persistent problems.
They say these include poor frontline staff, lost applications and documents, arbitrary decisions and conflicting messages.
Melino Maka of the Tonga Advisory Council said an Immigration Commissioner should be set up to review contentious decisions.
He said a recent report by the auditor-general into the Immigration Service's former Pacific Unit found 40% of its decisions were flawed. The unit has now been disbanded.
Joanna Fuimaono, a community worker at Awhetu Services in Otara, said immigration staff make random decisions and frequently don't appear to understand what they are doing.
Immigration Service acting national manager Peter Elms said the meeting had given the department plenty to think about.
Mr Elms said they can expect to hear back from the service by the end of next week.
