Pacific advocates gather as a petition for visa equality heads to Parliament. Photo / Moera Tuilaepa-Taylor
By RNZ
Former National MP Anae Arthur Anae is planning to submit a petition to New Zealand’s Parliament today, demanding equal treatment of visitors from Aotearoa’s Pacific neighbours.
Anae and his supporters drove from Auckland down to Wellington, where he is leading a demonstration on the grounds of Parliament on Wednesday morning, before the petition handover, which was expected to take place around midday with New Zealand First leader Winston Peters.
At the moment, Pacific nationals must apply for a visitor visa, provide proof of funds for the duration of their stay and could be asked to get an X-ray or doctor’s check to show they’re in “good health”.
But the petition wants visitors from six Pacific nations to be treated the same as travellers from 60 other countries that it says are eligible for a cheaper, more straightforward electronic authority to enter Aotearoa.
As of last month, Anae said the petition had been signed by more than 45,000 people.
He told Checkpoint’s Lisa Owen that discrimination against Pacific peoples travelling to New Zealand needed to end.
“At this point of time, 3.2 billion people around the world can access New Zealand direct or via Australia and be issued a visitor’s visa on arrival at the airport. The less than 16 million people of the Pacific have been denied this opportunity for far too long,” Anae said.
Owen pointed out to Anae that the highest number of overstayers as a percentage are from some Pacific Island countries. When he was asked if he thought that was the reason why there are stricter requirements, he had this response.
“That’s true, but that’s based on the few numbers that are here and taken into consideration all the other people. But the fact is, as I just said, if you made it easier for people to come and go, they don’t need to overstay.”
Peters has spoken positively about the petition publicly. He told Radio Samoa he would look into improving the speed of approvals for visas for people from the Pacific.
“I think one of the concerns is not so much visa free. It’s visa now.
“So I get a phone call, I am told in South Auckland my cousin’s dying, I want to be on a plane that afternoon. That’s what they are wanting and I understand implicitly what they are asking for.”
Samoa’s Prime Minister has also voiced his support for Anae’s petition, saying he saluted him for taking this first step but added his Government could bring the authority the petition needs.
The call for easier access to Australia and New Zealand for Pacific people is something that several Pacific leaders have called for in recent years.
In a statement in January responding to Anae’s criticism of New Zealand immigration settings on Checkpoint, Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment director visa Jock Gilroy said: “New Zealand has specific immigration settings specially for the Pacific countries such as the Pacific Access Category (PAC), Samoan Quota (SQ) and the Recognised Seasonal Employer (RSE) scheme.
“Pacific nationals also pay lower visa application fees than people from other countries.
“We’re working hard to further improve our services and have made a number of changes in the past 18 months to welcome Pacific visitors and make it easier for people from the Pacific to come here to visit loved ones, or for a holiday.”
People with passports from Pacific Islands Forum countries can visit New Zealand from Australia with a New Zealand Electronic Travel Authority (NZeTA) and stay for up to three months, if they have a valid eligible Australian visa.
Eligible Australian visas include certain visitor, work, family and study visas. The full list can be found on the Immigration New Zealand website but does not include people transiting through Australia.
This is being trialled for 12 months.
From July last year, people from the Pacific are generally granted a two-year multiple-entry visitor visa.
This means they can now come to New Zealand as often as they like within a two-year period, as long as they meet the visa requirements.
In November 2024, the Visa Application Centre was launched in Apia to support Samoan nationals applying for New Zealand visas.
The centre replaced Immigration New Zealand’s previous, limited face-to-face service with a 9-4pm, Monday-Friday, bookable service enabling support to submit visa applications.
Immigration New Zealand says it has improved the experience for customers calling from overseas, in order to show further commitment to the relationship.
It says it has made improvements to reduce call wait times for callers from certain Pacific countries, including Samoa, Tonga and Fiji, “reflecting the strong and enduring connection” between the countries.
Visitor visa applications are now online in the Pacific, making the application process more streamlined and meaning applicants have access to real-time status of their application.
It also means applications can be managed across all of Immigration New Zealand’s processing offices and processed faster.
“This means Pacific visitors are getting decisions and certainty quicker about their ability to travel to New Zealand,” the agency said.
In the last six months, Pacific visitor visas have been processed in an average of eight working days, much faster than the equivalent period last year, it said.
– RNZ