Changes have been made to immigration instructions for people who are allowed to travel to New Zealand while there are border restrictions in place. The ‘compassionate entrance exceptions‘ criteria establishes exceptions for family and medical grounds for travel. It also confirms that a humanitarian situation occurring outside of New Zealand has no bearing on a request to visit the country.
People who meet the ‘compassionate entry requirements’ or who have a valid invitation to apply (ITA) based on previous humanitarian requirements are now eligible for critical purpose travel to New Zealand.
A person meets the compassionate entry requirements, if they have an extraordinary family or medical circumstances that necessitates immediate travel to New Zealand over and above any other country.
Factors that are not considered relevant when determining if the applicant meets the compassionate entry requirements whether:
This includes unusual family-related circumstances that necessitate a person’s travel to New Zealand to provide support, in order to avoid serious harm. The factors to be considered here are:
An important thing to note here is that the separation of close family members as a result of COVID-19 does not fulfil the compassionate entrance level in itself. Alternate border exceptions, such as the family relationships category, have been introduced by the New Zealand Government to allow entrance of such certain groups.
It is understandable that with so many policy changes and the exceptions to the same, you may have questions or concerns.
If you have any queries or require assistance regarding the above information, please do not hesitate to contact Immigration Advisers New Zealand Ltd. at [email protected] or call on +64 09 3790219. Our experienced team of Licensed Immigration Advisers will be happy to guide you.
Vandana Rai is a Senior Licensed Immigration Adviser and has built a reputation around her rare set of skills, which could be considered ideal for her legal profession.