Changes that require migrant workers who want to bring their parents to New Zealand to earn twice or three times the median income has come under fire from ACT and the Green Party.
The Government announced today it was brining back the parent category visa programme so that some skilled migrant workers could bring their parents to New Zealand.
The new changes mean the child now has to have a income of over $106,000 a year for one parent, twice that of New Zealand's median income, and over $159,000 if bringing two parents.
ACT's David Seymour said the policy changes "has delivered the worst of all worlds and appears appears to reflect the paralysis of the Coalition Government".
"What we now have is a parent category for the rich that offers little protection for the taxpayer."
He said the cap of 1000 parents per year, despite a waiting list of 6000 showed the Government did not want many parents to come to New Zealand.
But some are calling the new rules elitist, because only the wealthiest skilled migrants will qualify.
"The previous policy focused on whether a parent had sufficient funds to guarantee their income for the rest of their life. The new policy simply requires two good years of income and your parents can come for the rest of their life.
"The new policy will fail to guarantee parents won't become a burden on the taxpayer. It will also prevent people who could have made a contribution from coming here."
MP Golriz Ghahraman tweeted that restoring the visa was a good move, but the Green Party had been clear that "reserving the right for the wealthy is unfair".
"Families being together helps with mental health, supports working parents, and means people get to live well while we contribute to New Zealand."
Prior to the parent visa programme being closed in 2016, the emphasis was on the earnings (guarantee of having $28,166 a year or $41,494 as a couple) and funds (over $500,000) of the parent, with the child's pay having to be over $65,000, or $90,000 or more as a couple.
The programme was put on hold due to a backlog of applications.
David Cooper of Malcolm Pacific Immigration, a visa assistance company, said lifting the moratorium on residency visas for parents of migrants was "long overdue".
"We are losing valuable skilled people. Keeping people in limbo for nearly three years is not good in terms of their wellbeing. I think most Kiwis would see it as quite uncaring."
He said the US, Canada, Britain and Australia have visa pathways for parents.
"The people affected are being badly hurt unnecessarily."
SHARE ME