New Zealand immigration minister Kris Faafoi has said that select permanent residency applications to the country under the skilled migration category are being prioritised over others.
In an interview with local radio station Radio Tarana, Mr Faafoi said that permanent residency applicants who earned more than $110,000 annually – or $51 an hour – are eligible for faster processing times for their applications.
He also said that all other applications were going through Immigration New Zealand’s regular processing criteria, but acknowledged that some applications were facing delays.
Speaking on residence visa applications under categories other than skilled migration to New Zealand, he asked for patience from applicants amidst dissatisfaction on prioritised applications to move to New Zealand.
Mr Faafoi also urged applicants to refer to Immigration New Zealand’s website for the proper criteria for applications under different categories, such as humanitarian reasons.
There are currently more than 16,000 residency applications in Immigration New Zealand’s backlog in the skilled migrant and work categories.
