Parent Visa is coming in 2025!

We have been reporting for some time on the progress of the new Parent Visitor Visa. The government campaigned on rolling out a five-year multiple-entry visitor visa for parents. The visa would be extendable by another five years (allowing a total stay of 10 years in New Zealand).

MBIE (the agency where Immigration NZ sits) has publicly released a document setting out the immigration priorities of the Minister of Immigration, Erica Stanford. This document references a new five-year "Parent Boost” visitor visa. The visa will be conditional on covering potential healthcare costs and consideration of a healthcare levy. The aim is to have this visa up and running by 30 November 2025.

As the parent visa is considered and developed next year there will be several issues to address. These may include:

• Making sure parents do not become a burden on the public health system. Covering unexpected healthcare costs may take the form of an insurance policy that a parent(s) must take out before a visa is issued. Under the current temporary Retirement Visa, a comprehensive medical insurance policy is required as part of the visa application. It is not a cheap policy to purchase. Most importantly the insurance cover provides extensive healthcare coverage, so the New Zealand taxpayer is not liable for healthcare costs if a person falls sick.

• There is a reference to a healthcare levy. The British government currently charge a healthcare levy for visas that range in price between £776 and £1,035 per year and per person. Important this does not mean New Zealand will run the same system or charge at the same level as the Brits. We are simply illustrating what other countries do.

• Good standard of health. Anyone who applies for a temporary visa of 12 months or more must be of good health before a visa is issued. Older people tend to have more health issues that may require treatment while in New Zealand. If your parent intends to apply for the Parent Boost visa any current health conditions should be discussed with your adviser before an application is lodged. Quite often we recommend that specialist medical reports are obtained before the visa application is lodged as serious conditions usually mean a visa won’t be approved or specialist medical reports will speed clearance through Immigration NZ's health team.

The target date to open applications for this new visa is on or around 30 November 2025. We will keep you posted through our newsletter as we learn more in 2025. Be cautious about the opening date for applications, it could be sooner or later.

If you would like to register interest for this new visa, simply email your name and contact phone number to parents@malcolmpacific.com