Indians indeed like to be ahead in every sphere, and it is no surprise that even with regards to immigration in New Zealand, that is the case.
Talking about immigration, the One-Off residence visa programme, which got announced on September 30, 2021, is undoubtedly one of the most talked-about things at present.
The Government introduced the one-off residence pathway to provide around 165000 migrants currently in New Zealand with the residence. The Visa will allow employers to retain settled, skilled, and scarce migrant workers, reflecting their critical part in New Zealand's economy. It also gives migrant workers who have already demonstrated their commitment to New Zealand the certainty to make a life here.
The processing of Phase One of the same began on December 1, 2021, for those who had already applied for residence under the Skilled Migrant or Residence from Work categories on or before September 29, 2021, or had submitted a Skilled Migrant Category Expression of Interest, and had included your dependent child in the Expression of Interest aged 17 years or older on September 29, 2021.
INZ expected around 14,000 applications in Phase 1
Indian Weekender got the latest data from INZ regarding the application processing in Phase 1 since it started two months ago.
Interestingly, with regards to the approvals of application vis a vis nationality, Indians top the list. Nearly 34% of One-Off resident visa applications approvals are people of Indian origin, which is highest when compared the data with other nationalities.
Nationals from the Philippines and South Africa are second and third, respectively, followed by Great Britain and Sri Lanka.
Stephanie Greathead, Acting General Manager, Border, and Visa Operations, said, “Processing applications for the 2021 Resident Visa is a priority for Immigration New Zealand. We are committed to deciding the vast majority of these residence applications within 12 months, with some being much faster. Our staff has been working hard to process these applications since the category opened, and we are making good progress. As of January 26, 2022, Immigration New Zealand (INZ) has received more than 12,747 applications for the 2021 Resident Visa applications, involving 30,617 people since Phase one opened on December 1, 2021.
Out of them, 3,627 applications,(which is around 28%) involving 7,387 people have been approved and granted residence. Out of the approved applications, 1,264 applications were approved for Indian nationals, involving 2,167 people.”
As expected, most of the applications that have been approved for Indians are under the Settled criteria - a whopping 97%.
“Of the 2,167 Indian nationals approved, 2,106 people were granted residence under the settled criteria, with 51 people under the skilled criteria and 12 under the scarce criteria. The discrepancy of two in the total figures is due to two applicants meeting the criteria under more than one category,” revealed Stephanie.
People eligible to apply for the 2021 Resident Visa under Phase 2 can do so from March 1, 2022. 2021 Resident Visa applications close on July 31, 2022.
Since getting residency in New Zealand is one of the biggest goals for most immigrants that come to New Zealand, many migrants, especially Indians, do travel back to India to celebrate their residency, but Covid-19 pandemic has certainly changed that for some.
Indian Weekender spoke to a few lucky migrants who got their One-Off residence approved about whether they plan to visit India to celebrate this achievement with their families and loved ones.
Gaurav, an IT professional, who got his One-Off resident visa approved on January 18, 2022, says, “It felt like the weight of 30 elephants has been lifted off my shoulders after I got my resident visa. This has opened new avenues for me to think about my future here in this country. But the very first step is to go back to India and visit my family, whom I have seen in a rectangle box of my phone for the last two and a half years. Come what may, I will be traveling back to India amid the omicron spike. The fear of returning is no longer there. I am traveling on February 6 and plan to come back once the requirement for MIQ is no more there, and hopefully, it will be soon."
However, many others are waiting for the Covid-19 situation to get better to avoid any risk.
Kulwinder Kaur, a Matata resident who got her residency under One-Off, approved on January 19, 2022, explains, "Getting NZ residency was one of my biggest dreams. Now that I have got it after so much struggle, I would have loved to go to India to share the happiness and excitement with my family, who had been praying for the same. Because of the Covid-19 pandemic and the transmission of Omicron variant throughout the world and the fear that I might get stuck In India if I go. I have decided to hold on to my plans as of now. I hope and pray that things get better soon, and I will be able to see my family back in Punjab and share my happiness with them without any stress of how I will come back.”
Rajan, another immigrant whose residency was approved on January 11, 2022, says, “I, along with my wife and child, recently got our residency through the RV2021 scheme. We want to go back to India to celebrate the same, but the recent Omicron threat and the border news has again sent our plans in uncertainty.”
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