Selections for the Parent Resident Visa Category expressions of interest (EOIs) are restarting and the number of visas that can be granted each year has increased from 1,000 to 2,500. The income threshold required for sponsors has also been lowered. This means more people will be able to bring their parents to join them in New Zealand.
Immigration New Zealand will restart selections of EOIs from the current queue from 14 November, and selections are planned for every three months after that. New EOIs will be selected by ballot with the first selection in August 2023.
EOI selection has been paused since 2016 to allow for a review of the Parent Category settings. It was set to restart in 2020, however, it was further paused due to the pandemic. Immigration New Zealand appreciates things may have changed for many families since they submitted their EOIs, and they want to make sure that people are aware of the options available to them.
The Parent Resident Visa Category allows any New Zealand resident and citizen who has lived here for at least 3 years to sponsor their parent’s application for residence if they meet the sponsorship criteria.
The changes to the Parent Category include lowering the income threshold for sponsors and expanding the joint sponsorship arrangements to allow two adult children (siblings in most cases) to combine their income to meet the relevant threshold, rather than only their partner.
Expression of Interest selection
The first selection of EOIs will take place on 14 November 2022, and selections will be every three months after that.
INZ will select enough of these EOIs to approve 2,000 visas a year under the Parent Category.
EOIs will be selected in date order, with the oldest EOIs selected first.
EOIs submitted after 12 October go into a ballot and 500 visas each year out of the 2,500 will be reserved for those EOIs.
People with existing Expressions of Interest
Immigration New Zealand will contact people who made an EOI to advise of the changes and to provide an opportunity to update or withdraw their EOI and to request a refund.
People who withdrew their EOI after the previous income thresholds were announced for this visa category will be invited to resubmit their EOI.
New Expressions of Interest
Immigration New Zealand can also take new EOIs, but there is no need to rush.
They are moving to an online process for submitting EOIs in May 2023.
From 12 October, new EOIs will be entered into a ballot with the first ballot being held in August 2023.
In total 500 EOIs each year will be randomly selected from the ballot.
EOIs stay in the ballot for 2 years, so people interested in the Parent Category may wish to submit their EOI closer to the first selection in August next year.
EOIs that have not been selected from the ballot will expire after 2 years.
The person will need to submit a new EOI and pay the fee to be entered into the ballot if they would like to be considered for future selection.
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