The Parent Resident Visa is open again!
As of 12 October 2022, Immigration New Zealand (INZ) is accepting new Expressions of Interest for the Parent Resident Visa.
New Zealanders and their parents have welcomed this news, especially since INZ has reduced the sponsor requirements and increased the number of visas.
When do applications open?
Migrants who want to apply for a Parent Resident Visa must first submit an Expression of Interest (EOI) to Immigration New Zealand (INZ).
INZ started accepting EOIs on Wednesday, 12 October. Any EOIs that INZ receives from this date go into a ballot, from where INZ will make a random selection. The first selection happens in August 2023 and every three months after that.
Migrants whose EOIs get selected and get invitations to apply can submit applications for the Parent Resident Visa.
What about Expressions of Interest submitted before the Parent Resident Visa closed?
The Parent Resident Visa temporarily closed in 2019, with plans to reopen it in 2020. Unfortunately, COVID hit, which meant it didn’t happen.
At the time of the closure, many migrants already had EOIs in the system for the Parent Resident Visa.
Immigration New Zealand is keeping those EOIs and will select EOIs from the pool in the date order they were received. These selections will start on 14 November 2022 and happen every three months after that.
At this time, INZ can’t tell how long it’ll take them to select all existing EOIs. However, INZ has said they’ll publish accurate timeframes as soon as possible.
Migrants who no longer want to apply for a Parent Resident Visa can withdraw their EOI. Migrants will also get the opportunity to update their EOI if necessary.
What are the changes for sponsors?
Immigration New Zealand has lowered the income requirements for sponsors, i.e., the adult children of applicants.
INZ also allows two adult children, rather than just an adult child and their partner, to combine their income to sponsor parents.
Furthermore, a sponsor only needs to earn 1.5 times the New Zealand median wage instead of twice the median wage. This limit increased by half the median wage for each joint sponsor or additional parent.
These reduced requirements apply to EOIs already in the queue and EOIs submitted from 12 October 2022.
How many visas are available?
Immigration New Zealand has increased the number of Parent Resident Visas available each year from 1,000 to 2,500.
There’s no hurry to submit an EOI right away!
Immigration New Zealand has advised that migrants wait until closer to August 2023 to submit their Expressions of Interest. EOIs stay in the queue for two years, so submitting an EOI closer to August will mean it’s in the queue longer if it’s not selected the first time.
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