Migrants 'will leave NZ' if residency pathway for parents remains closed

Monday, 1 November 2021

Migrants who have called New Zealand home for years say they may need to leave this country, as the parent residency pathway, which has been suspended for six years, remains closed.

Some are considering leaving New Zealand to be with elderly parents, or moving to a country with a clearer pathway for parent residency.

Residency applications for parents of New Zealand residents have been suspended since 2016, leaving more than three thousand applicants in limbo.

The government announced the category would reopen in 2020, with higher income criteria for sponsors, but this was deferred because of pandemic border closures, said an Immigration New Zealand (INZ) spokeswoman.

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A petition to parliament calling for the immediate reopening of the parent category has been signed by more than 5000 people.

Gourav Sharma, an IT professional in Hamilton, applied for his parents’ residency in June 2016, but is still waiting.

“Even after six years, we have no light at the end of the tunnel,” said Sharma who’s a single dad to two kids, with no family support.

Sharma’s parents have been to visit, but could only stay in New Zealand for six months at a time, due to visitors’ visa restraints.

As the only child, Sharma said he will consider either moving back to India or moving to Australia, where he feels there are clearer options for parent migration.

Catherine Chen, a registered oral health therapist, said she will move back to China if the uncertainty on parent migration continues.

“I am their only daughter, my parents have given up a lot to raise me,” said Chen, who has been trying to get her parents residency since 2016.

As a health worker, Chen said her training here taught her to always consider patients’ wider whānau, an approach which resonated with her, but she is disappointed not to receive the same empathy.

“What about my whānau? My whānau includes my parents,” she said.

Emma Zhang is an IT professional in Wellington. Her father died during the wait for INZ to approve her parents’ residency application.

Zhang’s mother is almost 70 and living alone in China.

Having lived in New Zealand for 10 years and given birth to her daughter here, said this is her “second homeland”.

But Zhang said she would return to China or move to another country with more certainty of parent immigration if her mother cannot come to live in New Zealand permanently.

“I’m very conflicted inside. My mum is alone in China and I have a duty to look after her … it feels like Immigration New Zealand is forcing me to leave,” she said.

Zhang said she’s disappointed with INZ’s lack of communication and plan for the reopening of parent residency.

“I want the government to give an indication whether it’s opening, or whether they’ll review the criteria, or if they decide to close it for another three years. I just want them to give us an explanation.”

There is a backlog of 3605 Expressions of Interest (EOIs) under the parent category, according to INZ general manager of Border and Visa Operations Nicola Hogg.

She said the government continues to assess when EOI selections can take place.

Meanwhile, a spokesman from Immigration minister Kris Faafoi’s office said while the matter is on its radar, no decisions have been made yet.