New 'Parent Boost' Visitor Visa

The Government recently announced a new visitor visa that bridges a gap between regular visitor visas and parent category residence applications (which usually involve a lottery, or significant amounts of funds).

This visitor visa will be 5 years in duration, multiple-entry (meaning you can come and go from New Zealand during that time), and will have the option of renewal for a further 5 years. The requirements are higher than a regular visitor visa, and lower than residence, to try and strike a balance in the middle.

This visa allows parents to come over longer-term, but without directly leading to residence, and more importantly, without placing a strain on the public health system - applicants will need to have pre-purchased health insurance to cover private care.

Applicants will still need to meet the generic character requirements, and health requires (set to the higher residence standard).

So far, we know that the sponsorship requirements are similar to a parent resident visa, in that the sponsoring child must be either a New Zealand citizen, or resident. There may be an amount of time the sponsoring child must have lived in New Zealand before being eligible to sponsor the parent. It can also be assumed that the sponsoring child must ordinarily reside in NZ.

The sponsoring child must be responsible for their parents' accommodation and daily needs, the cost of deportation if required, and that they will ensure the parent can access health care services.

Finance requirements -

One of the following conditions must be met;

• the sponsoring child earns at least the New Zealand median wage (or 1.5 times the median wage for joint sponsors) to sponsor 1 parent, with the amount increasing by 0.5 times the median wage for additional parents or;

• the parent(s) have a personal income equivalent to New Zealand Superannuation (Pension) currently $32,611.28 per annum for a single parent or $49,552.88 for a couple, or;

• the parent(s) have sufficient personal funds available: $160,000 for a single applicant or $250,000 for a couple. (please see this link where the financial information was taken from)

Applicants must also hold 1 year of health insurance, with $250,000.00 of cover for emergency medical care, and and their policy must cover repatriation, return of remains, and cancer cover of $100,000.00. This insurance cover must be maintained for the duration of their stay.