New Zealand is set to reclaim its status as a favoured destination for international tourists and business travellers after it eased entry into the country.
Visitors from around 60 visa-waiver countries can now travel to NZ provided they are vaccinated and do a pre-departure and arrival test for Covid-19, while other travellers on a valid visit visa will require to self-test on arrival in NZ.
From October 2022, all visa categories are permitted to enter the country.
For now, that deadline is not flexible. “There's no update to the most recently stated position,” a spokesperson from the office of Covid-19 Response Minister Chris Hipkins said, adding “However, the government continues to take advice on all border settings."
But Immigration Minister Kris Faafoialso appears to leave the door ajar : “The government continues to review New Zealand’s reconnecting strategy to see if and when it might be possible to bring forward final steps of the reconnecting plan sooner than previously signalled.”
The government’s cited alibi for wanting to hold off the anticipated influx of visitors, particularly from India , if all visa categories are opened up, is that Immigration New Zealand (INZ) is short staffed.
Catriona Robinson, associate deputy secretary, INZ, told Indian Weekender that INZ has been “making several operational decisions to ensure that it is ready to end the border exception regime and prepare for a return to increased volumes of visa applications from migrants wanting to come to NZ.”
Robinson argues that the Covid-19 pandemic and the border closure as a result has put the immigration system under pressure. INZ has had to adapt to new challenges, she pointed out.
“ This work cannot be unwound with the flick of a switch, particularly as we continue to effectively run two immigration systems until we have a fully open border again,” Robinson said, adding : “ We have been working towards building capacity and capability to ensure timely visa decisions for applicants across all visa categories can be delivered. We have been planning since July 2021 to return INZ's workforce to a level which will be appropriate for when the borders are to reopen. But with no certainty in the initial months of when our borders may reopen, what that would look like and what demand there would be, our planning has necessarily had to be based on projected forecasts.”
According to Robinson, INZ is in the midst of an ongoing recruitment drive with 229 new staff hired over the last 12 months. An additional visa processing centre has opened in Christchurch to meet the exigency.
More visas will be routinely processed via the immigration online platform, which is already happening in the case of visitor visa applications and 2021 resident visa applications. The new employer accredited work visa will follow suit shortly.
Robinson claims visa application volumes are hard to forecast, but reiterates her commitment to “reconnecting New Zealand with the world.”