Samoan RSE workers heading to Australia Photo: Supplied / Tipi Autagavaia
New Zealand Minister of Immigration Michael Wood has announced the re-opening of visa registrations from the Pacific.
Registrations for the Samoan quota will reopen on October 3, and for the Pacific Access Category from October 5.
Wood said these pathways would provide for up to 5900 people to become New Zealand residents over the next two years, helping reduce the impact of global labour shortages and helping grow the economy.
"This is a major milestone as the Pacific Access Category and the Samoan Quota are longstanding visa categories that enable people from our Pacific partner countries to become residents of New Zealand," Wood said.
Photo: RNZ / Angus Dreaver
"It recognises the historical relationship between New Zealand and Pacific, and we are thrilled to see these categories opening again to our Pacific neighbours," he said.
Registrations for the ballots, which are only open for one month, have now been shifted to be primarily online.
"We also recognise the impact the move to online will have in some circumstances, and work has been done to ensure there are resources available to ensure registrants have all the information they need to apply online with ease," Wood said.
"The 5900 places over the next two years includes unused places from the 2020/2021 ballots which are being re-distributed. The Pacific Access Category unused ballots will be re-allocated across the 2022 and 2023 years, while the Samoan Quota ballots will be re-allocated over the four years from 2022 to 2025," he said.
"We look forward to welcoming more of our Pacific neighbours through these residence pathways."
The Samoan Quota registrations will be open until November 2, and registrations for the Pacific Access Category will be open until November 4.