Guidelines on Migrating to New Zealand through Parent Category

by avon Sharma Immigration Consultants

For decades New Zealand has been a top immigration destination. Today, thousands of people who were born in a foreign nation are living in New Zealand, as its citizens or permanent residents. And every year more immigrants acquire the permanent resident status. And surely, most of them want their parents to accompany them to New Zealand.

New Zealand allows its citizens and permanent residents to bring their parents with foreign nationality to New Zealand. To begin the process, applicant parents are first required to get sponsored by their child living lawfully in New Zealand. The sponsoring child must be at least 18 years of age. Sponsors who are not NZ citizens must be living in New Zealand for at least 3 years as its permanent residents prior to sponsoring their parents.

After getting sponsored, applying parents are required to submit an Expression of Interest (EOI). If their application is selected from the EOI pool they will get an invitation from Immigration New Zealand to apply for permanent residency in New Zealand. Every three months a draw takes place in which a number of EOIs are selected depending upon the number of vacancies available under the New Zealand Residence Program.

There are two different channels to submit the EOI; tier 1 and tier 2. Tier 1 has higher financial requirements than tier 2, but is usually preferred because of quicker processing. Since every year Immigration New Zealand grants only a limited number of permanent residency permits for parent category, many applications are put in waiting queue. The average waiting time for tier 1 is about 6 months; while for tier 2 it may go up to 7 years.

In case you have applied for permanent residency under parent category before 16 May 2012, then your application will be processed in separate queue. The average approval time for applications in this queue is 3 years.

Eligibility Criteria

·         You must be in good health and have a good character

·         You must not have dependent children

·         You must meet certain English language requirements or have pre-purchased an English language course in NZ

·         Requirements for tier 1:

o   Your sponsoring child must have an annual income of NZ$65,000, or a combined income of NZ$90,000 with his or her partner

o   You have guaranteed lifetime income of at least NZ$27,319, or a combined income of NZ$40,084 if your partner is included in your application

o   You must bring a minimum sum of NZ$500,000 to NZ as your settlement funds

·         Requirement for tier 2:

o   Your sponsoring child must have an annual income of NZ$33,675 and must not be receiving public benefits provided by NZ government to its citizens and permanent residence

o   All your children must be living outside your native country or the country in which you are currently residing as a permanent resident

Clearly, getting permanent residency through parent category can be a daunting task if you don’t keep everything in order. That is why it is highly recommended to understand all the requirements thoroughly or opt for a reliable New Zealand immigration consultant.

Sponsor Ads

• Ad Space Available - Rent it Now!

Created on Dec 31st 1969 18:00. Viewed 0 times.

Comments