New Zealand Parent Resident Visa to be Reopened

The New Zealand Parent Category visa was temporarily suspended in 2016 during the tenure of the National Party government. At the time, the New Zealand government cited the high cost of the program to taxpayers as the reason, necessitating a policy review. It remained closed until the announcement of a new policy to be relaunched in February 2020, allowing children who are New Zealand citizens or permanent residents and meet specific income thresholds to apply.

I. Features of the New Parent Resident Visa

1. The New Zealand government requires a large number of skilled migrants to fill the country's skill gaps and will strongly support the reunion policy for the parents of these migrants;

2. The New Zealand government will focus on whether the child in New Zealand has sufficient financial capacity to support their parents' life in New Zealand, rather than requiring the parents to provide guaranteed income;

3. Helping New Zealand employers find missing employees to meet the scarcity in the labor market;

4. Only when employers find employees can businesses get on the right track, thereby further promoting national economic development;

5. The new Parent Resident Visa is about to be reopened (scheduled for February 2020), with EOI selections beginning in May and a cap of 1,000 places.

II. Increased Income Requirements for Children

1. First, the sponsor's child must have citizenship status, meaning they must have been a New Zealand resident or citizen for at least 3 years.

2. The new policy raises the annual income requirement for a single sponsor from the original NZD 65,000 to NZD 106,000 to sponsor one parent to New Zealand. If a single sponsor wishes to sponsor two parents to come to New Zealand, an annual salary of NZD 159,000 is required.

3. The new policy raises the annual income requirement for joint sponsors (i.e., both spouses) from the original NZD 90,000 to sponsor one parent to over NZD 159,000. If they wish to sponsor both sets of parents to come to New Zealand simultaneously, a high standard of NZD 212,000 in annual income is required.

4. Sponsors must meet the above requirements for 2 out of the 3 years prior to submitting the parent visa application and must provide IRD tax records.