New Zealand People’s Party proposes major changes
Auckland, July 7, 2017
The New Zealand People’s Party announced this morning its Immigration Policy as a part of its Election Manifesto pledging to make Immigration a dynamic, responsive and fair regime to benefit the economy, migrants, their families, students and their settlement programme.
Roshan Nauhria, a popular businessman, philanthropist and community leader is the President of the New Zealand People’s Party with a passion for the welfare of all New Zealanders. He is a strong advocate of a clean and responsive immigration policy.
We wait the release of the Party’s other policies, notably on Crime, Law and Order in the coming weeks.
The following is the full text of the Immigration Policy issued by the Party. It does not carry our comments.
New Zealand People’s Party
Immigration Policy 2017
Vision
Immigration has played an important role into shaping New Zealand into the strong, diverse country it is today.
As a country, we regularly punch above our weight in the global community both
economically and socially. The families that took a chance to leave their homes and start a new life here are a big part of why a small nation at the bottom of the world has achieved so much.
Resettlement Stress
Families that uproot their lives and move to New Zealand are taking a brave chance on our small but successful country. Moving away from one’s support network can place significant strain on a new family arriving in New Zealand. We want to see families reunite in New Zealand, together in our beautiful country.
We want to change the system so it is easier for families to be together whilst
bringing prosperity to the economy.
International Students
New Zealand has become a world leader in education and one of the most sought after
destinations for students to come study. Fair play is a big part of what makes New Zealand special and we want to extend this to the thousands of international students that come here every year.
As New Zealand’s fifth biggest export, it is important to make this industry fairer, more robust and ethical so that we can see it continue to grow.
New Zealand is a great little country and there is so much untapped potential waiting to be released. Together we can make a stronger, happier, more equitable New Zealand where the economy continues to flourish. A place where people take priority over politics.
Policy Goals
• Reopen the Parent Resident Visa category with changes to make it better for families and better for the economy
• Reinstate Last Family Member visas to reunite families, empower communities and encourage capital to be reinvested in New Zealand.
• Review the situation of all International Students currently in New Zealand and give them a fair shot at what they were promised.
• Overhaul the industry to put some integrity and honesty back into it.
Overhaul and Reopen Parent Resident Visa
New Zealand has previously had a visa category that allows parents to move to New Zealand to join their resident children, It has always been a very popular visa, and with limited places available a large queue formed. Whilst it was a popular policy, it wasn’t without flaws.
Lacking innovative ideas to fix these flaws and bowing to political pressure, the government chose to shut it down.
Leaving thousands of families separated and alone.
The New Zealand People’s Party will:
• Grant parents initially a 5-year work visa
• Allow them after this time parents to apply for permanent residence
• During this time parents must either work to support themselves or be supported by their families.
• Parents will undergo a good character check and full medical evaluation.
It is our firm belief that united families will be beneficial to the New Zealand community and economy. Removing the perceptions around their effect on the economy will help bring New Zealand together and empower immigrant communities. A stronger, friendlier New Zealand is better for everyone.
Bring Families Together with a Family Reunification Visa
Closed in 2012 by the current government, the Last Family Member Visa has been a huge loss to New Zealand’s immigrant communities and the New Zealand economy. This visa was a victim of its own success with long processing times leading to applicants waiting for 18 months for work visas to come through.
This meant that previous job offers were no longer available.
The New Zealand People’s Party will:
• Give Immigration New Zealand the resources required to process these visas in a reasonable time.
• Successful applicants will automatically be granted a two-year year work visa.
• Applicants must be able to support themselves or be supported by their family during this time.
These two simple changes will have massive benefits for both families and New Zealand as a whole. By allowing families to be together in New Zealand they will be able to put down strong, lasting roots in the community.
When families are all together in New Zealand it becomes very hard to keep assets left behind secure. This will lead to families transferring all their wealth to New Zealand. In conjunction with this, the need to send money offshore disappears. Keeping this wealth in the New Zealand will allow it to be reinvested in the economy.
Reaffirm Our Commitment to International Students Currently in New Zealand
The education export sector is a hugely successful industry and vital to New Zealand’s future economic growth. Students were sold New Zealand education programs on the perception that it is a pathway to permanent residence.
Families put themselves in massive debt to send their children to study in New Zealand. We want to end their exploitation by unscrupulous providers, employers and politicians alike. New Zealand needs to honour its commitments and be held accountable.
The New Zealand People’s Party will:
• All students currently in New Zealand will have their education provider and course evaluated.
• Students found to be in low quality courses will be granted a 2 year work permit with a
requirement to become qualified in a Skilled Migrant Category occupation or an occupation on the Skilled Shortage Lists.
• Visa extensions will be granted to students whom need more time to complete the required study.
• Create minimum standard for education providers and give New Zealand Qualification Authority the resources to implement and enforce this.
• All education consultants will be required to be Licensed Immigration Advisor.
The Education Export industry has been having growing pains in recent years and we need to have an honest look at the industry without demonising the thousands of students currently in the country. Honouring the promise made to the students is something we believe all New Zealanders will support.
Give Meaningful Weight to Visitor Visa Sponsors
When people move to New Zealand the often leave many family and friends behind. Especially as families grow and change in New Zealand, there is often occasions you want to share with those not here. So we want to make it easier to sponsor visitor visas. When sponsoring a visa, the character of the sponsor should be taken into account, as well as their ability to support their visitors for the duration of their trip.
The New Zealand People’s Party will:
• Change the Visitors Visa sponsorship so that any visitor visa sponsored by a family member who is a citizen or permanent resident, with a clean sponsorship history is automatically granted.
• Immigration New Zealand will still retain the ability to decline these visas in situations where they believe the application not to be genuine.
Making the visitor visa sponsorship process more inclusive can only benefit the community.
Sponsors whom are putting the personal and financial reputation on the line will be less likely to turn a blind eye to over staying. While making it easier for families to be together in times of celebration or loss will grow stronger communities.
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Photo Caption:
Roshan Nauhria, Leader, New Zealand People’s Party Leader
(File Photo)
