HM
[FYI request #16139 email]
Ref: DOIA 2122-0149
Dear HM,
Thank you for your email of 20 July 2021 requesting under the Official Information Act 1982 (the OIA), the
following information:
“1: How many valid EOI's have been received by the department for the Parent Resident Visa.
2: If these are more than 1000, can a break up of applications received be provided by prior
2019, 2020 and 2021
3: Are application for Parent Retirement Category Visa's being processed currently?
4: If yes (for the above question), how long does Parent Retirement Category visa currently take
for processing.”
Our Response
Question One and Two
Please find below a table providing the numbers of Expressions of Interest (EOIs) received by Immigration
New Zealand (INZ) for a Parent Resident visa as at 5 August 2021, broken down by year.
Year
Total
2021
164
2020
1,434
2019
144
Older (as at 31 December 2018)
3,713
Total
5,455
Question Three Since the border closure on 19 March 2020, New Zealand has strict border restrictions in place to keep
those in New Zealand safe and to control spread of the COVID-19 virus. Due to Section 43(1)(b) of the
Immigration Act 2009, INZ is not legally able to grant a visa to an applicant who is currently offshore and
unlikely to meet entry requirements, unless they are either exempt from the border restrictions or have
had an expression of interest for a border exception approved.
This means that INZ has continued to process and make decisions on applications for the Parent Retirement
Resident visa where the applicants are in New Zealand, but cannot grant visas to those who are outside of
New Zealand.
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Please note this is a different category than the Parent Resident Visa category in Questions Two and Three.
Selections from the pool of Parent Resident Visa EOIs are currently suspended until further notice due to
COVID-19. This means that EOIs can continue to be accepted, but no selections from the pool are currently
being made. You can access the Immigration New Zealand website for any updates using the link below:
www.immigration.govt.nz/new-zealand-visas/apply-for-a-visa/about-visa/parent-resident-visa
Question Four You can find processing timeframes on the INZ website, including for the Parent Retirement Resident visa:
https://www.immigration.govt.nz/new-zealand-visas/apply-for-a-visa/tools-and-information/tools/office-
and-fees-finder
If you wish to discuss any aspect of your request or this response, please contact Immigration New Zealand
at [email address]. Yours sincerely,
Nicola Hogg
General Manager - Border and Visa Operations
Immigration New Zealand
Ministry of Business, Innovation & Employment
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