Officials, business visitors, and diplomats from the Pacific Island countries and Kiribati will be subject to facilitated visa conditions when traveling to New Zealand, the latter’s Immigration minister has announced.
According to Minister Michael Wood, the new measure is an opportunity to streamline the immigration process for frequent visitors in New Zealand, which was disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic, VisaGuide.World reports.
“The changes for officials and diplomats recognize the need to provide greater consistency to our Pacific Island Forum Country and Kiribati counterparts with visa validity conditions and assurance of our commitment to an efficient process,” he said.
Prior to this change, individuals could obtain visas on conditions that were related to circumstances for travel and therefore varied. With frequent requests from Pacific nations, the New Zealand government saw the need to consider consistent visa conditions for travelers that often visit the country.
In addition to facilitating the conditions, New Zealand aims to strengthen diplomatic relations, as the official passport holders will now be able to travel to the country multiple times on one visa.
Moreover, officials at Immigration New Zealand (INZ) have also established a revised approach to business travelers from the Pacific countries to New Zealand, and those traveling frequently between these two destinations will also be considered for a three-year multiple-entry visa. The decision will apply to new visitor visa applications immediately, as the Minister pointed out.
On the other hand, the Green Party in New Zealand has called on the Government to waive visas to all Pacific countries.
“A handful of officials, diplomats, and frequent business visitors from Pacific Island Forum Countries and Kiribati may well have an easier pathway to visit Aotearoa – but for every day Pacific people wanting to see their families here, nothing has changed,” Teanau Tuiono, a spokesperson on behalf of people from the Pacific, under the Green Party, said.
Tuiono also argues that the government’s announcement doesn’t help thousands of Pacific islanders who want to visit New Zealand but rather facilitates visas a privilege for those with good jobs. He also says that families that deal with racism in the immigration system will continue battling with such injustice and points out that the Green Party believes that people from the Pacific should be able to visit their families in New Zealand regardless of their income.
On the other hand, Ricardo Menendez March, the spokesperson for immigration at Green Party noted that the problem with the new measure is that it applies only to a certain category of people and leaves behind many members of the community that aren’t able to travel frequently to New Zealand. He says that the government should immediately grant visa waiter status to the Pacific countries, in an effort to reflect Pacific values.
The post New Zealand Facilitates Visa Conditions for Pacific Officials & Businessmen appeared first on VisaGuide.World.
