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Changes to immigration family residence categories: questions and answers
Thursday, 10 May 2012
Why is the Government making changes to immigration family residence categories?
The changes to immigration family policies will help New Zealand attract and retain skilled migrants, and ensure that family migrants can settle well and are self-sufficient.
New Zealand faces growing global competition for migrants with the skills we need to grow our economy. Being able to sponsor your parents to live here is important to help attract and retain skilled migrants. As a result of these policy changes, many skilled migrants who wish to sponsor their parents for residence here will experience a swifter decision and less bureaucratic criteria, This will give New Zealand a competitive advantage in the international hunt for these highly skilled workers.
These immigration policy changes will also help ensure we are attracting family migrants who are self-sufficient and can settle well. The door will still be open to parents of other migrants but their applications will not be prioritised.
What changes are being made to the Parent Category?
There will be a new two-tier system for applications, with common and also some different requirements for each tier.
Tier one will be given priority processing ahead of tier two.
Tier One requirements
Tier One applicants must:
have a guaranteed lifetime minimum income of NZ$27,203 per annum for a single person or $NZ39,890 per annum for a couple, or
bring at least NZ$500,000 in settlement funds to New Zealand, or
have a sponsoring adult child who has an annual income of at least NZ$65,000, or joint income of NZ$90,000 when combined with their partner’s income.
Tier One applicants will not be subject to a “centre of gravity” test whereby the number of adult children in New Zealand need to be at least as many as the adult children in the home country.
Tier Two requirements
Tier Two applicants must have a sponsoring adult child who has an income of at least NZ$33,675 per annum.
Any other children the applicant has must live outside the home country.
Requirements for both tiers
To help them settle in New Zealand, all applicants must meet a minimum standard of English (meet at least two competencies of International English Language Testing System Level 4 if they are not able to demonstrate it through other means such as time spent in an English-speaking country) or pre-pay English language tuition, and
Applicants in either Tier One or Tier Two must not have any dependent children.
There will be no change to the requirement for sponsors to be either New Zealand citizens or residents for three years.
There will be no change to health and character requirements for parents.
Are the sponsorship periods that are required for the Parent Category also changing?
Sponsorship includes a responsibility on the sponsor to ensure the sponsored person has accommodation and maintenance for a specified time while in New Zealand. Sponsors are also responsible for the costs of outward travel (if repatriation or deportation is required).
The sponsorship term will remain at five years but the Government has decided it will amend the Immigration Act 2009 at some time in the future which will extend the sponsorship term to 10 years.
The timing for this amendment has not been decided.
Why under Tier Two is there a requirement that there are no adult children in the home country?
This is to prevent the Parent Category queue from growing excessively, since the current “centre of gravity” restrictions will not apply to Tier One. This Tier Two requirement enables those parents who do not have the support of a son or daughter in their home country the opportunity to apply for residence.
Why is there a requirement under both tiers for “no dependent children”?
This is to avoid chain migration (whereby, for example, a migrant sponsors a family member who in turn sponsors a family member and so on). New Zealand wants most migrants to qualify on their own merits rather than on the basis of extended family relationships.
What changes are being made to Sibling and Adult Child Category?
Applications for Sibling and Adult Child Category will close at midnight on May 15 and will not reopen. From this date New Zealand citizens and residents will no longer be able to sponsor their siblings or adult children for New Zealand residence.
However, applications already received will continue to be processed. In addition:
siblings and adult children will continue to receive 10 points within the Skilled Migrant Category on the basis of their family relationship
young adult children aged 18 – 20 years of people granted residence will not have to show they are financially dependent to be eligible for residence.
Why is the Sibling and Adult Child Category closing?
The Sibling and Adult Child Category will close because this category does not generate sufficient economic benefit for New Zealand.
Only 66 percent of sponsored siblings and adult children interviewed 18 months after gaining residence had jobs, despite a job offer for ongoing and sustainable employment being a key requirement of this policy.
Siblings and adult children with the skills New Zealand needs can continue to apply under the Skilled Migrant Category and may get an extra 10 points for having close family in New Zealand.
Once the current queue of applications has been cleared, the approximately 1,400 annual residence places currently used for siblings and adult children will be transferred to the Skilled Migrant Category.
What changes are being made to the Young Adult Children residence requirements?
The criteria is being relaxed so that young adult children aged 18 to 20 may be eligible for residence - even if they have a job in their home country - provided they are single, have no children and are included, or were declared, in their parents’ residence application.
Previously adult children in that age group were not able to come to New Zealand if they could not show they were financially dependent, such as if they had a job in their home country.
Those aged 21 to 24 will still need to show that they are financially dependent.
What taxpayer savings are expected from the changes to immigration family residence categories?
Ten years after the changes are fully implemented (including the extension of the sponsorship period to 10 years) the Department of Labour has estimated that benefit costs from the Parent Category could reduce by up to $34 million annually. There would also be an annual saving of $6 million from the closure of the Sibling and Adult Child Category.
In addition to these savings, more facilitating policy settings for the parents of skilled migrants will help New Zealand to attract and retain more people with the skills we need to grow our economy. |
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夫以銅為鏡,可以正衣冠;以古為鏡,可以知興替;以人為鏡,可以明得失.
发表于 2012-5-10 22:50:45
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