NZ to fight for UK visit rights
A report in The Dominion Post in New Zealand says the NZ Government is gearing up to fight sweeping visa changes curtailing the rights of Kiwis to work, study and travel in Britain.
Under the changes, the six- month visa-free period of New Zealanders visiting Britain for tourism or business purposes will be reduced to three months.
New Zealand film crews and academics will also lose their rights to enter Britain visa-free for up to 12 months and an estimated 2000 Kiwis each year will no longer be entitled to the ancestry visa, which entitles them to live and work in Britain for four years if their grandparents were born there.
Prime Minister Helen Clark, who is expected to raise the issue with British officials when she travels to London next month, said New Zealand had made a formal submission to the British Government opposing the six-month visa changes and would raise its objections to the ancestral visa soon.
“While New Zealand understands the United Kingdom’s efforts to ensure its immigration regime is robust, a reduction in the length of time New Zealand citizens can visit without seeking a visa would be of serious concern,” Ms Clark said.
The Government had stressed the historical ties between New Zealand and Britain and reiterated the small immigration risk posed by New Zealanders.
It believed the policy proposal to reduce the six-month visa-free period was driven by problems created by nationals of other countries.
Its submission argues that New Zealanders should not be disadvantaged.
The ancestry visa and other special arrangements accommodating Commonwealth citizens have come under the spotlight in Britain as it seeks to overhaul its immigration system.
The proposal to abolish the ancestral visa has drawn criticism from allies in Britain, including Labour MP Austin Mitchell, who has described it as showing “contempt” for the long associations between Britain, New Zealand and Australia.
A Report by The Mole from The Dominion Post
John Alwyn-Jones
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