Parmjeet Parmar: Act Party Immigration Spokesperson on new Parent Boost Visas

A new 'Parent Boost' visa will make it easier for some migrants' parents to visit the country.

From September, it will grant parents of citizens multi-entry access for five years, with the opportunity for renewal once - meaning they could hold the visa for 10 years.

Applicants will also need to meet specific health, income, and insurance requirements.

Act Party Immigration Spokesperson Parmjeet Parmar told Ryan Bridge it's hard to know how many people will apply.

She says it could be between two and ten thousand. 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Parents of immigrants will from September be allowed to visit
the country on a special visa. The Parent Boost visa
will allow parents will allow the parents of citizens and
residents to be granted with multi entry access for up
to five years if they meet health, income and insurance criteria,
plus you can extend for another five so it's basically
ten It's a copy paste of the Australia Canada model.

(00:21):
Dr Palmju Palmer is the act immigration spokesperson with me
this morning, good morning.

Speaker 2 (00:25):
Good morning game now by having me on, great.

Speaker 1 (00:28):
To have you here.

Speaker 2 (00:28):
Now.

Speaker 1 (00:29):
The estimates for how many we might see you apply
for this very wildly, from two thousand to I think
ten thousand a year. What do you think is going
to happen with it?

Speaker 2 (00:38):
I think we'll have to wait and watch how many
people actually take up this opportunity, because as it was
said in yesterday's media conference that it could be between
two to ten thousand, but will have to beatency.

Speaker 1 (00:51):
Are you happy with I mean, you guys wanted a
public system with a payment from the parents rather than
them having to have health insurance. Why did you want
that and do you think this will make a difference?

Speaker 2 (01:03):
So where we have lended. We are quite actually satisfied
with that. I am quite confident it will work and
it will help families those who really want to bring
their parents here on long term visitors visa. So when
we were doing work on our policy that was done
while we were in a position, I spoke to various
health insurance industry people and the feedback that I received

(01:27):
from them was that some health insurance companies are reluctant
to take new clients those who are over a certain age.
And also the second point they made was that they're
reluctant to take people those who are on a visitor's visa.
And they also said that health insurance can be given
for one year with the travel insurance. And that's why
we thought that it's best to have a fund associated

(01:50):
with the application that goes towards public health fund, so
that we are not creating a situation for the sponsor
where the sponsor is aniga in our death. Do you
help their parents ending up in hospital and then the
hospital choosing for fairmus. So that's why we thought we
want to actually balance it for sponsor and for taxpayers.

Speaker 1 (02:10):
And that was the idea there, right, But does that
not mean that if that is the case, that some
of these parents won't actually be able to get insurance.

Speaker 2 (02:18):
So what I would say is that industries evolved and
if there is a need then industries might look into it.
Some really positive about it and confidental work, but we
will watch closely how it goes and if it needs improvement,
we will be definitely talking about that.

Speaker 1 (02:36):
Pandreid, appreciate your time sponding. Punjik Palmer, spokesperson for Immigration
for the EC Party. It is eight minutes away from
six on News talk to. Because I guess the thing
is you don't want you don't want a whole bunch
of parents of immigrants coming to New Zealand and draining
the super our superannuation and the health system, which is
what this is aiming to address. You can't do that,
But then the question is really how effective is it

(02:57):
if they can't get insurance. I suppose can't get insurance.
For more from early edition with Ryan Bridge.

Speaker 2 (03:03):
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