Immigrants will have to support their parents financially for a decade if they are approved to settle in New Zealand, under new rules the government has introduced to cut spending on immigration.
It doubles the five-year sponsorship period adult children sign up to when they apply for their parents to join them. The increase is the latest in a series of policy settings that the government has changed because of concerns about immigrant numbers and costs. A freeze on the parent category began last month. Immigration New Zealand said the sponsorship period increase from five to ten years would affect those people who had already been invited to apply, and anyone who applied in the future. Immigration Minister Michael Woodhouse announced the freeze last month, saying immigrants' parents were seeking income support because they did not have the means to sustain themselves, despite sponsorship commitments. He said it was Every year, about 5500 parents of migrants settle in New Zealand, of whom about half are Chinese and around 20 percent are Indian. Immigration New Zealand's operational policy manager, Nick Aldous, said a review of the parent category was underway. He said the change to the sponsorship period was agreed to as long ago as 2011 to limit fiscal costs, but required a law change. "The changes which have been made to both numbers and (over recent years) policy settings are in response to concerns that the overall costs of the Parent Category to the New Zealand community should be limited," he said. "The upcoming review will also address these concerns." The government also announced last month it aimed to rein in the number of residents under the skilled migrant category and raised the points threshold immigrants must meet to apply. Mr Woodhouse said a review of work visas was also underway. Last week, a change to rules came into force meaning South Africans now have to apply for a visitor visa before travelling to New Zealand. Previously visitors could be granted a visa on arrival through the visa waiver system. To read the actual article, please visit here.
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An American and her co-workers are thinking of fleeing the US, with New Zealand high on their list of potential destinations.
And she is not the only one. What seemed like a joke during the race - that hundreds of Americans would plan an escape to New Zealand should Donald Trump win - now does not seem so funny. Immigration New Zealand said its website had 56,300 visits in the past day - almost 2500 percent more than normal. "In the same 24-hour period the New Zealand Now website - which contains information about living, working, studying and investing in New Zealand - received 70,500 visits from the United States compared to a usual daily average of 1500 visits," a spokesperson said. "INZ typically receives about 3000 registrations each month via the New Zealand Now website from US nationals interested in studying, working or investing. In the past 24 hours, 7287 registrations have been received from American citizens." Trade Me said it has had 90,000 searches from the US in the last nine days, while realestate.co.nz's US traffic was up 141 percent yesterday compared to the same time a year ago. An American living in New Zealand, Jess Ducey, said many would not be as lucky as her. "There's a realisation amongst a lot of them that, if you can get out, if you can move to New Zealand if you can get a New Zealand work visa, you're better off than most. "So the people who most desperately would need asylum, people whose lives are in active danger, are the ones that are already struggling to get to other countries." In Chicago, Sarah Kroth said last night she was gung-ho to move to somewhere like New Zealand. "But I feel almost like it doesn't matter because he'll still be president if I leave," she said. "Some of my co-workers are already looking at contacts they have in Canada, my friends in New Zealand have said that they would take me in. "I just hope that Barack Obama barricades the door and doesn't come out." Google search results in the US for phrases such as 'move to New Zealand' and 'New Zealand jobs' also skyrocketed over the past 24 hours, particularly in left-leaning states like Colorado, Nevada and Washington. Meanwhile, Canada's immigration website crashed last night, while Australian media are also reporting a potential influx of Americans. To read the actual article, visit here. |
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