I have started a petition requesting the Government to create a visitor visa category for parents of New Zealand Citizens and Residents where parents can stay in New Zealand without restriction on duration. This means that those parents will be able to stay in New Zealand for as long as they want but on a visitor visa status. The link to the petition is https://petitions.parliament.nz/bd9acabc-5e0d-4ab2-790d

The Government cannot allow hundreds of thousands of parents to come as residents because of costs. Once a person becomes a resident then they are entitled to benefits which cost the Government a lot of money, that is why the parent category only awards residency to 2500 parents per year.

I have done hundreds of applications for residency under the RV2021 category. Once residency is approved, every one of my clients has asked me “how do I get my parents to come over?” The Government cannot give out residency to all these parents because it would be too costly to the system – especially medical services.

I am requesting the Government that instead of granting residency to parents that they create a long-term visitor visa category which does not restrict the amount of time parents can stay in New Zealand. This will allow New Zealanders to have their parents live with them but at their kid’s expense. The kids can take out medical insurance or pay for their parents expenses themselves.

I believe such a category will allow New Zealanders to have their parents live with them without costing the Government a lot of money. If you agree with our chain of thought, please sign the petition by clicking on the link above. There is no restriction on who can sign – a child can sign it, a work visa holder can sign it, a person without a visa can sign it, even people living overseas can sign it. You just need to give your name and email address – I have had written confirmation from the parliament that no information will be used in any way or form other than the electronic signatures to see how many people support the petition.