The Minister of Immigration Hon Michael Wood, announced the re-opening of the much awaited parent category residence visa. This category was closed down by the New Zealand government in October 2019 and was re-opened on 12 October 2022 with a few tweaks in the requirements which look promising for those migrants who have been waiting quite patiently to have their parents join them in the country they now call home.
A snapshot of the relevant points
The number of Parent Resident Visas that will be granted each year has been increased to 2,500 (from 1000 previously)
Selections from the existing pool of Expression of Interests will resume on 14 November 2022 and will take place every three months after that till the current pool is exhausted.
Up-to 2,000 visas a year will be granted to people with existing expressions of interest.
With effect from 12 October 2022, any new expressions of interest submitted will go into a ballot rather than being added to the existing EOI queue and these EOIs will be eligible for selection for two years after submitting their expression of interest.
An additional 500 visas a year will be granted from the ballot, starting with the first selection in August 2023, and then every three months after that.
A sponsor needs to earn 1.5 times the New Zealand median wage (rather than twice). This increases by half the median wage for each joint sponsor or additional parent. Applies to existing expressions of interest with INZ and those submitted from 12 October 2022.
Two adult children can also combine their income to sponsor parents. This is an additional option to one adult child and their partner, as previously.
From May 2023, EOIs can be submitted online on the INZ website.
What happens if your EOI is already in the pool?
Existing EOIs will be selected from the pool in the date order that they were received by INZ. Each year 2000 places are available. First selection will take place on 14 November 2022 and will be undertaken every three months thereafter.
INZ will contact you to give you the opportunity to update or withdraw your EOI. If you had withdrawn your EOI due to not meeting the income limit set before October 2019, you will be invited to submit an EOI to the queue.
You can change your existing EOI in response to the changes, e.g. you may wish to add an adult child as a sponsor.
If you choose to withdraw your EOI from the queue, you can request a fee refund.
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.
