Changes to the immigration system have been outlined by the New Zealand Government in order to become more sustainable.
The coalition Government has created a more sustainable immigration system by adjusting international visa costs, as outlined by Immigration Minister Erica Stanford.
“Until now, our immigration system has been heavily subsidised by taxpayers. The changes we’re making are shifting the cost to those benefitting from the system. We’re ensuring it is self-funding and more efficient,” Stanford said.
From the 1st of October, new visa charges will be introduced across almost all visa categories, freeing up more than NZD $563 million for the Crown over the next four years. This includes visitor visa costs.
Stanford said that the new cost increases are essential for practical and administrative reasons, as well as in the interest of security.
“The new charges reflect the costs associated with visa processing, assessing and managing more high-risk applications, and increased compliance costs as we deal with higher levels of migrant exploitation, managing more asylum claims, and maintaining and upgrading Immigration New Zealand’s ICT systems,” said Stanford.
Stanford added that New Zealand’s ongoing commitment to supporting its Pacific neighbours will see the continuation of subsidised fees for visa applicants from Pacific countries.
She also noted that the Government has an expectation the costs of the changes to the immigration system will eventually decrease.
“We expect that once further improvements are made to modernise immigration systems in the coming years, the running costs will reduce over time and efficiencies will improve.”
The charges remain competitive in comparison to countries like Australia and the United Kingdom, therefore, the Government is confident New Zealand will continue to be an attractive destination to live, work, study and visit.
“This is another step the Government is taking to restore fiscal discipline and rebuild the economy,” said Stanford.
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