UPDATED 3.42PM: An international student walked into a National MP's office in south Auckland this afternoon, doused himself in petrol and threatened to set himself alight.

A Counties Manukau police spokeswoman said the man in his thirties entered the Papatoetoe office and was making threats - but it was hard to make sense of what he was saying.

The Fire Service also attended the incident.

Shift manager Steve Smith said firefighters arrived at the scene and helped talk down the man.

He said "as a result of speaking with the person inside they were able to remove his clothing and re-dress him, for want of a better phrase."

"He's now in the hands of the police."

The police have taken the man to the Middlemore Hospital mental health unit.