Parent Boost Visitor Visa Applications Now Open for New Zealand Citizens and Residents | Up to 5 Years Stay

Applications are now open for the Parent Boost Visitor Visa, which will allow parents of New Zealand citizens and residents to come and visit their children for up to five years, Immigration Minister Erica Stanford says.

Parent Boost allows parents multi-entry access for up to five years, as long as they meet specific health, financial, and insurance requirements.

This new visa is in addition to our existing general visitor visa and Parent and Grandparent visitor visa and has been designed to carefully balance the desires of some New Zealanders with parents overseas for a longer-term visitor visa while also protecting our public services, particularly our health system.

This is joined by our recent announcements, such as new smart skilled migrant residency pathways, to help bring in the skills we need where we have shortages domestically.

This is all part of our work to attract talent, support businesses, and boost the economy.

We know that a longer-term visitor visa for parents is an important consideration for migrants who are deciding where they want to build their lives, and I’m pleased that we can support that, to the benefit of those families and New Zealand Whether it be welcoming a new child, additional support during health challenges or providing childcare so parents can work, there is nothing quite like having family support close by.

We are proud to deliver this coalition agreement between National and ACT, which will make the New Zealand proposition more appealing and more competitive We remain committed to delivering an efficient and predictable immigration system that drives economic growth to take New Zealand forward.

Notes to editor: To be eligible for a Parent Boost visa, applicants must: have an eligible sponsor who is a New Zealand citizen or resident meet Acceptable Standard of Health requirements demonstrate they have at least one year of health insurance coverage which provides emergency medical cover, repatriation, return of remains and cancer treatment and maintain this insurance for the entire duration they are in New Zealand meet character requirements and be a bona fide / genuine visitor while offshore during the 3rd year of the multiple entry visitor visa, complete a new medical assessment and demonstrate they have maintained their insurance One of the following income requirements must also be met: The sponsor must earn the median wage to sponsor one parent, joint sponsors must earn 1.5x the median wage; or The parent/s have an ongoing income aligning with the single rate of New Zealand Superannuation for a single parent and the couple rate for a couple; or The parent/s have available funds of $160,000 for a single parent and $250,000 for a couple to support themselves for the duration of their visa The Parent Boost Visa strikes the balance of making New Zealand more attractive for people who want to make our beautiful country their home, without putting additional strain on public services, Ms Stanford says.

We are committed to delivering an efficient and predictable immigration system that drives economic growth to take New Zealand forward.

Job Check redesign Today also marks the launch of a redesigned Job Check for employers recruiting through the Accredited Employer Work Visa. These updates will make the process more efficient, supporting faster decisions for employers.

This redesign is based on feedback from employers and other users of the system and is another example of our commitment to making sure the immigration system is responsive, user friendly and enables employers to fill skill gaps quickly.