Parent resident visa reopens
The Parent Category resident visa will be reopened in February 2020 together with new financial requirements.
The sponsoring adult child will need to meet higher income requirements and parents are no longer required to have guaranteed lifetime income of $60,000 per year.
The income requirements are:
- One sponsor: twice the median income, around $106,080 a year (from current $65,000) for sponsoring one parent and three times the median income, around $159,120 a year, for sponsoring two parents
- Two sponsors (main sponsor and his/her partner): three times the median income, around $159,120 a year (from current $90,000), for sponsoring one parent and four times the median income, around $212,160 a year, for sponsoring two parents
The sponsor must meet the income requirements for 2 out of 3 years before their parents applied for residence. This means if your parents apply in April 2020, then you must have the required incomes from April 2018.
The current median income is $53,040.00 and will be updated annually.
The new scheme will be capped at 1,000 applicants per year, previously it was 5,000.
Existing Expression of Interests (EOI) in the pool are able to retain their current place but will need to meet the new requirements or withdraw for a refund. If you have an EOI in the pool and do not withdraw, the application will be assessed based on the new requirements.
Other existing requirements are:
- The sponsor must have been a New Zealand citizen or holding a resident visa for at least three years immediately preceding the date of the application
- The sponsor’s resident visa must not subject to conditions under section 49(1)(a) or section 50 of the Immigration Act 2009
- The sponsor must reside in New Zealand for a minimum of 184 days in each of the three years before the date of the application
- The parent(s) has no dependent children
- Parents must meet health and character requirements
