Chinese families are disappointed Immigration New Zealand will only start to work on the five-year parent visitor visa next year.

Immigration Minister Erica Stanford has confirmed the timeframe to RNZ.

There were a range of immigration issues the government was dealing with to ensure the integrity of the country’s border was maintained, she said.

“Our key focus currently is ensuring the AEWV visa settings are right,” Stanford said.

“(However) the government has committed to introducing the five-year parent visa this term.”

Xiuyun Liu’s mum cutting toe nails of Liu’s daughter.
Photo: Supplied

Immigration advisor Stuart Scrimgeour said though anticipated by many people, the visa category would take a while to come based on what the department has indicated.

“It takes quite a lot of time and a lot of work to implement changes in policy and to the immigration laws. So, if they’re only going to start to work on it next year, I think we may even be lucky if we see it next year,” he said.

Auckland woman Elsa Wang, who has been in New Zealand for more than a decade, said the timeframe was “unacceptable” as she thought the government would introduce the policy soon after coming into power.

The National, ACT and Labour parties all campaigned on immigration policies ahead of the general election last year, which would make it easier for parents and grandparents of migrants to visit their family.

At present, parents and grandparents can stay for up to 18 months in a three-year period on a multiple-entry visitor visa, and stay up to six months at a time.

Wang said her parents, 67 and 68, had to go through police and health checks when coming to Aotearoa and had to worry about going out of New Zealand when the six-month period ended, which was troublesome.

“They have to spend more than 10 hours on the flight. They don’t feel comfortable and can’t sleep well. They are old. I really don’t want them to struggle.”

She was anticipating this parent visitor visa, which the National Party said would be valid for five years with renewal possible for a further five years, but now felt let down.

“I understand that the government has a lot of things to deal with. They have this 100 day plan, and I thought there would be some good news during the first 100 days when they came to power, but it has been long.

“Why is it so difficult? … Why is it take such a long time?”

Another woman, Louise Lu, said the government did not understand the urgency of this issue to many families from Asia and especially China.

Lu said in many Asian cultures, including Chinese, there was great value placed on respecting the elderly and filial piety. Many Chinese in her generation were only children, which made the issue more important for them, she said.

“I think they should respect every different culture. We think parent visa is the most important issue. If they say there are other priorities, we feel offended,” she said.

Lu said she hoped the government could introduce the policy by the end of the year, otherwise, she would not be supporting the National Party in the next election.

Christchurch resident Xiuyun Liu with her parents and children. Liu’s parents have been helping look after the young children.
Photo: Supplied

Xiuyun Liu, who RNZ spoke to when the policy was announced last year, said she felt helpless but still hopeful.

“I’m not happy about it but I understand the government might have its priorities. … House prices are high; interest rates are high and the economy is bad. … It wouldn’t help at all for me to feel angry,” she said.

To be with the family, her parents, 69 and 72 years, have used visitor visas and student visas to stay in the country.

“I hope it will be implemented as soon as possible. My parents are getting older, and they may have health problems later, which would make it even more difficult for them to get a visa,” Liu said.

She said many people might leave the country if the visa took too long to come, which would be a loss to New Zealand.

“We can’t afford to wait. It felt helpless. … We just want to be together.”

Scrimgeour said there seemed to be a lot of disappointment from his contacts and clients on the news.

“Everybody knows that currently with a parent residence visa and the new ballot system, that is basically a lottery, and we have people who are in there that have waiting close to two years.

“We’re counting on the five-year visitor visa so that they could at least create a stopgap for their parents to come over here and join their families, and it looks like that is going to be somewhat of a wish for the next 12 to 18 months.”

Immigration law consultant Sonny Lam said he was not surprised about the timeframe as it had been more than six months since the policy was announced but there had not been any movements on it.

Many people in the community had assumed that the visa would be open quickly as the announcement was made a while ago, and it was important for the government to manage expectations, he said.

“I guess the government should be transparent about the timeframe so families can make their own accommodation and plans … such as retirement planning or if they want to migrate to another country.”