Wealthy parents jump the queue

Ally Wang wants to work fulltime but says she can't do so until her parents Zhi and Ying Xu are given residency and can help look after her son Kevin and daughter Cathy. Photo / Dean Purcell.

New immigration schemes aimed at wealthy retirees have attracted 27 applicants who are prepared to invest a total of nearly $26 million.

The parent retirement policy, launched last year, has drawn 22 applications from nine countries, with the highest numbers coming from China and the United Kingdom.

Each applicant has to have a settled child here and invest at least $1 million over four years to gain permanent residency. They need to have good health but will not need to have health insurance, and as permanent residents they will be entitled to the normal health and welfare assistance.

However, the scheme has been criticised as being unfair, as applicants jump the queue of the regular parent immigration schemes.

MP Raymond Huo, Labour's Chinese community affairs spokesman, said the scheme gave New Zealand a bad look overseas.

"It is one thing for a country to be selling off its assets, but this policy shows the world that even our immigration visas can be bought," he said.

Mr Huo said letting rich parents jump the queue over legitimate applicants who are less wealthy would just create resentment within migrant communities.

The applicants will be counted within the 3440-limit of parents allowed to settle here annually under the Family Parent Category.

Flora Chen, 37, a single mother from China, said she needed her mother to help her care for her 6-year-old daughter so she could return to work in her profession as a qualified accountant. "I can contribute to the economy too, not just rich overseas parents," Ms Chen said.

"It is so unfair that just because people have money, they can trample over the needs of common folks like myself."

Five other applications have been received under a separate temporary retirement visa scheme, which allows those aged over 65 to live in New Zealand for up to two years at a time if they invest $750,000. They must also have comprehensive health insurance. The total amount of investment under the two schemes is at least $25.75 million.

Last year, 4956 of the 45,719 new residents in New Zealand were aged 50 and over - contributing to the country's median age increase. Statistics NZ figures released yesterday showed that as of December, the median age was 36.7 years old, an increase of 2.2 years compared to a decade ago.

Migration also contributed to a population rise to 4.39 million, a 1.1 per cent growth in the year to December.

This was the result of a natural increase (more births than deaths) of 35,800 and net migration of 10,500, Statistics NZ said.

LONG WAIT FOR APPROVAL

Immigrant single-mother Ally Wang says she desperately needs her parents here to help her look after her children so she can find fulltime employment.

The 36-year-old, who works part-time in a GP clinic as an administrator, feels it's "extremely unfair" for the Government to overlook her needs "just because mum and dad do not have $1 million to spare".

Ms Wang, who has a 12-year-old son and an 8-year-old daughter, has been waiting since 2009 for Immigration to give the nod for her father, Zhi Wang, 67 and mother Ying Xu, 61, from Guangzhou, to come and live with her.

Instead, what she received last week was a request from the department to "update her income details" because it said her current income wasn't enough to support her parents.

"The the only way I can earn more money is to find fulltime employment, and I can only work fulltime if my parents are here to help me take care for my children," Ms Wang said.

Immigration New Zealand says the family sponsored streams allows New Zealand citizens and permanent residents to sponsor close family members for residence.

China was the largest source country for residence approvals under the Parent and Sibling/Adult Child stream, making up 35 per cent, the agency said.