New Zealand to streamline visa process

The New Zealand Government has revealed plans to allow for skilled workers, students and visitors to acquire New Zealand visas more quickly and easily. Immigration Minister Jonathan Coleman was speaking to members of the Queenstown business community recently, outlining plans to attract immigrants and visitors to the country via measures he claimed would help cut bureaucracy, including faster processing of visas, simplified health and character checks for onshore applicants and approving multiple-entry visas for Chinese citizens, reflecting the growing contribution tourism from China brings to New Zealand. Mr Coleman said “What we are really trying to do is take a sensible risk-based approach and see how much, in terms of process and bureaucracy, we can remove from the whole system’. The plan has been met positively, with Queenstown Resort College CEO Charlie Phillips commenting that he was impressive with the initiative, and Chamber of Commerce chairman Alistair Porter confirming that he felt ‘far less extensive health screening’ would be beneficial. Mr Coleman pledged to reduce processing time to 20 days. At present, work visas in Queenstown are processed within 28 days, higher than the national target of 25 days for 90% of applications received by the department. For the latest updates on New Zealand skilled visas, please visit our website on a regular basis.