The Indian Weekender, 26 February 2021

10 NEW ZEALAND
Friday, February 26, 2021
The Indian Weekender
Govt relaxes rules for
onshore visitor visa holders
SANDEEP SINGH
Visitor visa holders will
be able to stay in New
Zealand a little longer as
the Government eases restrictions
for those still here, the Minister
of Immigration Kris Faafoi
has announced.
“Where people are here on visitor
visas which expire on or before
31 March 2021, the Government
will allow their visitor visas to
be automatically extended by
two months.
"During that two month extension,
which will be applied from the date
of expiry on their current visa, they
will need to apply for a new visa to
stay longer,” Kris Faafoi said.
The extension does not apply to
visitors on the special Covid-19
short term two-month visitor visa,
which was introduced in September
last year.
Govt also temporarily waives the
requirement of “9 months in last
18 months condition” for visitor
visa holders
In a second
temporary change
to immigration
settings, the
Government
has agreed to
temporarily waive a
rule which states that
visitor visa holders can
only be in New Zealand for nine
months out of an 18 month period.
“Most visa holders currently in
New Zealand will have been here
"Applicants
will still need
to meet all other
requirements for a visitor
visa, including proof that they
have enough funds to support
themselves in New Zealand, as
well as pay for their travel
home at the end of
their stay"
for more than nine
months by now,
which would have
excluded them from
applying for another
visitor visa.
“Waiving this nine
months of 18 rule
means that visa holders
who are still here can apply
for a further six-month visa.
"While applicants with visitor
visas expiring after 31 March 2021
won’t be eligible for the automatic
two-month extension, they can still
apply for a new visa that gives them
exemption from the nine months of
18 rule if they apply for their new
visa before 30 June 2021.
"That is because the temporary
waiver of that nine months of 18 rule
will end on 30 June 2021.
“Applicants will still need to meet
all other requirements for a visitor
visa, including proof that they have
enough funds to support themselves
in New Zealand, as well as pay for
their travel home at the end of their
stay,” Kris Faafoi said.
“While we have made these
changes to help many visitors facing
uncertain and worrying situations
back in their home countries because
of the Covid-19 pandemic, the
Government wants to make clear
that people who are here on visitor
visas are here as guests for a limited
time. We cannot guarantee further
extensions or waivers when these
changes expire,” Kris Faafoi said.
He pointed out that the Government
expects all migrants in New Zealand
to ensure they are here lawfully and
are able to support themselves.
“Temporary migrants who are in
New Zealand without the means to
support themselves, or who become
unlawful, are at risk of migrant
exploitation or not being able to meet
their basic needs.
"Migrants who stay here after
their visas have expired also risk
having their unlawful status count
against them should they wish to
travel to New Zealand or elsewhere
in the world in the future,” Kris
Faafoi warned.
COVID-19: Call for earlier vaccine
rollout for South Auckland amid outbreak
RADIO NEW ZEALAND
The government is being urged to
consider vaccinating South Aucklanders
first when the community rollout starts.
Papatoetoe and its surrounding suburbs are
grappling with the current Covid outbreak
- and the south is disproportionately hit by
Auckland’s large August cluster.
Under phase one of its vaccination plan, the
government is prioritising all border workers
and their families.
Pasifika Medical Association chief executive
Debbie Sorensen said when rollout goes wider,
consideration should be given to putting South
Auckland near the top of the queue.
The area’s many border connections put it on
the Covid front line.
“Our border is not in Remuera or the North
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Shore, the border is in South Auckland. The
airport is based in Mangere and, of course, a
high number of people that are working on
the border and the quarantine facilities live in
South Auckland,” Sorensen said.
The area was doing more than its fair share
to keep the country safe and had a higher
proportion of people more likely to be hit hard
by the virus, she said.
RNZ understands the Ministry of Health
has discussed a targeted vaccination campaign
for South Auckland but has not yet made a
decision.
An earlier rollout would not need to come
at the expense of the rest of New Zealand, Ms
Sorensen said.
“We’re so efficient as a country in terms of
being able to roll out vaccination programmes
that it won’t be that long before everyone else
will also have access to the vaccine, so there is
definitely a case to be made,” she said.
A co-leader of Te Ropu Whakakaupapa
Uruta, the national Maori Pandemic group,
Rawiri Jansen, said he regularly saw families of
border or frontline health workers in his job as
a GP in Papakura, and Covid created significant
anxieties for them.
Though vaccinating South Auckland would
have a benefit both for those living there and
the rest of the country, he hesitated to use the
word “prioritise,” saying other parts of the
country had MIQ hotels, ports and vulnerable
people too.
Their needs must also be weighed up, he said.
“There is no ethical prioritisation that says
somebody with comorbidities living in South
Auckland is more important than someone
living with comorbidities in Northland or
East Cape ... but we can describe sequencing
this, doing it in order, so we keep the whole
community better protected,” he said
The government had so far ruled out
vaccinating those connected to the Papatoetoe
outbreak.
That was despite one scenario in its current
roll out plan that said a community connected
to a controlled outbreak would be vaccinated.
Covid-19 Response Minister Chris Hipkins
said the government was sticking with its plan
to prioritise border workers and the most at risk
frontline workers.
The second batch of the Pfizer vaccine,
enough for 33,000 people, arrived on
Wednesday and similar amounts are expected
to arrive weekly.
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/
national/437108/covid-19-call-for-earliervaccine-rollout-for-south-auckland-amidoutbreak