Tongans get chance to emigrate legally [1]
Friday, August 30, 2002 - 10:00. Updated on Wednesday, February 10, 2016 - 15:10.
From Matangi Tonga Magazine Vol. 17, no. 2, August 2002.
Tonga has this year been included in the New Zealand Immigration Pacific Access Category, granting 250 Tongans the chance of obtaining legal status in New Zealand, or emigrating there.
Under the new limited access program for Tonga, which includes Tuvalu and Kiribati, there is an allocated a quota of 375 places for permanent residency in New Zealand, independent of the current existing categories. The scheme requires that Tongans who are interested in receiving legal status in New Zealand must first lodge a registration form for the PAC. Then 250 people, including principal applicants dependants and immediate family, will be selected electronically and invited to lodge an application for permanent residency. The application for residency may take up to six months to process and $500 in fees.
The Tonga scheme was implemented on July 1, and requires applicants to “meet character, health, and age requirements, have basic English language skills, as well as a job offer”.
The Head of New Zealand Immigration, Tonga, Roger Brown, said in June that the system did not mean automatic permanent residency. However, the people selected, would be able to lodge an application for New Zealand residency.
Similar to the American Lotto system of Immigration, the PAC is one of three categories of the New Zealand Immigration target to be filled every year. According to a press statement from the New Zealand Immigration Service, the 375 places “will be counted against the annual immigration program which is set at 45,000”.
Election promise
Today, there were an estimated 33,000 Tongans living in the Auckland and greater Auckland area, Roger said.
The new quota system according to New Zealand Immigration Minister “was promised before the last elections, and we are honouring that commitment”.
Pacific Island Affairs Minister Mark Gosche said, “the Pacific nations concerned have welcomed this move and it provides some certainty for these countries”.
Roger Brown said Tongans could still apply for permanent residency under the old policies of the Humanitarian and the Points system based on skills and professions.
“This will just allow those who don’t suit those categories, to have a chance to settle in New Zealand,” he said.
PAC has existed for many years and it is not known why the New Zealand authorities suddenly decided to include Tonga in the scheme this year.