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.
The Parent Visa Category
The Parent 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.
People with existing Expressions of Interest (EOI)
Existing EOIs — these are EOIs submitted before 12 October 2022 — will be selected in the date order that Immigration NZ received them. They will begin selecting them on 14 November 2022 and continue to select them every 3 months after that.
If you have an existing EOI in the queue, Immigration NZ will contact you and give you the opportunity to update or withdraw it.
If you do not get an email from Immigration NZ you may need to update your contact details using the process to update your EOI.
If you withdrew your EOI because you could not meet the previous income limit set before October 2019 you will be invited to resubmit an EOI to the queue.
New Expressions of Interest (EOI)
Immigration NZ will be accepting new applications however there is no need to rush.
Immigration NZ are moving to an online process for submitting EOIs in May 2023. From 12 October, new EOIs will be entered into a ballot. The first ballot will be 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.
For further information and assistance, contact Arno Nothnagel, our NZ Immigration Director here.
