Katy Armstrong: Immigration Principal Consultant says “Parent Boost” visa will encourage more global immigration

The government will allow a 'Parent Boost' visa 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. 

NZ Immigration Principal Consultant Katy Armstrong says New Zealand's not always just a skip across the ditch. For some people its a 24-hour journey or more, so the visa's a significant move. 

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Another immigration moved from the government. Parents of residents or

(00:02):
citizens will be able to apply for a multi five
year visa. Criteria good finances, good health, and at least
the year's worth of private medical insurance. Cabucati Armstrong's, the
owner of into Insed Immigration is Beck with the SCADI
Morning Morning, Mike. Is this a big deal? How many
people are involved in this? Roughly? Do we know?

Speaker 2 (00:20):
This is a big deal for people who who want
their parents to be here for sure? How many? It's
very difficult to know. There are about ten thousand expressions
of interest currently in a pool for residents for their parents,
but that this would this basically would reach a wider
number than that, because the thresholds are lower.

Speaker 1 (00:40):
Okay, So would this just be more people coming in
for a longer period of time or the same number
of people coming in for a longer period of time.

Speaker 2 (00:50):
I think it will be the same number or actually fewer.
I mean, if you look at basically we have currently
various offerings, right, We've got general visitor visas, we have
specific pairs grandparent visas which are available at the moment,
but they don't you can't stay for as long. So yeah,
it's the same sort of pool of people. Yeah, and
then but this particular visa will actually be fewer than

(01:13):
those are currently eligible for, say the three year visa,
because it's got some tougher requirements.

Speaker 1 (01:18):
Those large requirements. The finances the health do we know
what they are? Or they announced yesterday?

Speaker 2 (01:23):
Yeah, they were an announced. So basically the finances are
there's three ways you can meet them, and they're all
you only have to meet one of them. So either
your sponsor here in New Zealand is earning enough, or
you yourself earning enough, or you have a bit of
a nest egg. We're talking. You know, they're not minimal thresholds.
So if you're wanting to sponsor one parent, you've got

(01:46):
to be earning one. Just the median wage it's thirty
three dollars sixty six. It's not bad, it's obtainable. Yeah.

Speaker 1 (01:53):
And the health thing, is there a major or not? Well?

Speaker 2 (01:57):
I mean, obviously the concern when you're making this kind
of visa is how to protect the system, how to
help people reunite, but also how to protect the system.
We've got a stretched health system, so trying to get
that balance right is difficult. But I think it's you know,
with the insurance that's going to take the edge off
a whole lot of this. It's going to be the
first well no, sorry, the second visa that we have

(02:20):
that requires insurance.

Speaker 1 (02:21):
Yeah, that's the word the future. As far as I
can work out. Having said that, this seems to me
to be an ultruistic move. In other words, it's not
about skills or labor or anything like that. It's just
a sort of it's the nice thing to do, Is
it fear or not?

Speaker 2 (02:33):
Well, well, I think the government's view is more that
it is that, but it's also hey, look, if we
want to attract skilled migrants, you know there's a lot
of them out there that want to be able to
have their parents come for extended visits. And you know,
New Zealand's not just a skip across to do it,
is it? For some people it's a twenty four hour

(02:54):
journey or more so, you know, being able to have
your parents here for that period is going to be
significant for some people.

Speaker 1 (03:01):
All right, Kadie Muster, to have you on the program
is almost Kadie Armstrong, who's the owner and principal consultant
of into in z Immigration. For more from The Mic
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