Tourists in New Zealand whose visas were due to expire will be able to stay a little longer as the government announces a two-month extension.
Where people are here on visitor visas which expire on or before March 31, 2021, the government will allow their visitor visas to be automatically extend by two months, Minister of Immigration Kris Faafoi said on Friday.
“The Government recognises that some visitor visa holders are keen to stay in New Zealand longer while the Covid-19 pandemic is still attacking communities in their home countries,” Faafoi said.
“We have also listened to New Zealand’s business sector, including tourism ventures, which say foreign visitors who are still here can help our local economies.”
The automatic extension will apply to around 12,500 visa holders.
The extension does not apply to visitors on the special Covid-19 short term two month visitor visa, which was introduced in September last year.
The news will come as a relief to tourists on expiring visas who were “terrified” they would be forced to return to parts of the world where Covid-19 rages.
Some tourists living in New Zealand since Covid-19 hit said they would be willing to break the law to stay here when their visa extensions expire to avoid returning home to virus-riddled countries.
