The New Parent Retirement Category
On the 29th March 2010, a new immigration category is being released, which could make things easier for immigrants to bring their parents out to new Zealand.
If they have money of course.
My personal take on this is that I find these kinds of systems to be not much more ethical that legalised bribery. “Give us your money and we will let you in” does not sound much better than handing a brown envelope stuffed full of used notes to your case officer.
So, what’s the deal?
Firstly – there are actually two new retirement visas, which brings New Zealand more in line with Australia, who have long had a 2 year retirement visa option which was lacking here. There is a temporary retirement visa, allowing people to stay here for up to 2 years. The other is a permanent visa, and this is the one for parents of immigrants who are either residents or citizens.
Parent Retirement Category
The point of this is to bring in families of residents who have lots of money (NZD $1,000,000) and are willing to bribe invest it in New Zealand for four years. Actually I’m sure the point is to get a lot of money for New Zealand – the fact that it brings in peoples families is a side issue.
To qualify you need:
- an adult child who lives in New Zealand and who is either a New Zealand citizen or resident
- Meet Centre of Gravity requirements
- Be willing to invest $1,000,000 in New Zealand for 4 years: in one or more of the following:
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- Government Bonds, Company bonds traded on the NZDX, or bonds from NZ firms with at least a BBB rating
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- Shares in New Zealand companies including in Managed funds.
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- Must be capable of making a return, and can contribute to the NZ economy,
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- Must be invested in NZ$
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- Must be legal, not for personal use, invested in property or stuck in the bank or a finance company.
- Must have $500,000 in settlement funds and earn $60,000 a year
- Meet the standard health end character requirements. (No matter how rich you are – they are still going to make your life hell with medical assessments!)
Now- the really really bad news.
They are combining the number of spaces available for the old parent category and this new parent retirement category – and there only 3440 – 3740 places available. There are currently 7305 parents in the queue waiting for parent sponsorship places as it stands, so it still looks like a 2 year backlog. Of course, now the ones with money go straight to the front of the queue, because they effectively come out of this queue and put in another application, and New Zealand has made it crystal clear they will prioritise people who can afford the bribe investment over the rest of us plebs without rich parents.
It costs $2,600 to apply. But then if you can afford to tie up $1,000,000 with the government for 4 years, that’s hardly an issue is it?
You will have 12 months once approved in principle to pay the bribe investment, and you will be given a 12 month visa to enter New Zealand to look at investment opportunities. (Like the internet? None of the approved investments on the list requite more than Internet access and the willingness to tie up a lot of money for four years)
The policy is run through the business migration branch in Wellington. This is fabulous news as it gets people out of the abusive hands of the London Family Residence team. I knew there had to be a silver lining somewhere.
Bloody hell I am so relieved my family are in and through this mess. I pity anyone who has not yet been able to apply under the normal parent category, because unless your parents have the money, it looks like NZ may dump them on the scrap heap.
Make sure you are really clear on this: this does not provide any EXTRA parent spaces.
It merely allows those parents with money to come in straight away, without waiting for their children to prove their worth to New Zealand for 3 years. People currently in the parent queue could potentially find themselves being expected to wait a lot longer for a place to become available as the places currently available go to the people with more money. So if someone comes in as a skilled migrant on the 1st April 2010, their parents can apply for the parent retirement visa on April 2nd 2010. Without the child having proved any benefit to new Zealand or ability to settle here whatsoever.
Once again, immigrants who have bent over backwards to be a benefit to New Zealand and have earned the right through that benefit are about to get shat on.
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Related posts:
- The New Temporary Retirement Category.
- Glad my family is through this nightmare already.
- Mixing investing and immigration – is it sensible?
Comments
One Comment on The New Parent Retirement Category
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Juli Ryan on
Wed, 17th Mar 2010 11:38 pm
You are lucky your family is through this mess. My family does not have that kind of money. Even if they were rich, they still probably wouldn’t want to invest it in NZ. Because it sounds like a bribe! Crikey.
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