Bill English insists he will be raising the issue of immigration in his first phone call from Donald Trump.

The Prime Minister has been criticised for being weak in his comments on the President's executive order banning travel from some Muslim countries, and indefinitely suspending entrance for Syrian refugees.

Mr English told Mike Hosking he wants clarification on whether Kiwis will be able to get in and out of the US, without hassle.

"What's important here is the reassurance that people in New Zealand - in this case particularly Muslims - that we will remain open to them coming here."

"We're not going to implement the policy, we fundamentally disagree with the policy," he added.

English also noted that we were "yet to see how the policy is going to turn into a permanent policy, because the current arrangements are for three months."

Meanwhile, English said an election date has been discussed, and it's time to make a decision and an announcement.

"In the next week - I think it's important that people know when the date is. We don't want to make it a political thing."