10. Question No. 10—ImmigrationTEANAU TUIONO (Green) to the Minister of ImmigrationQuestion No. 10—Immigration10. TEANAU TUIONO (Green) to the Minister of Immigration: Does he agree with the Green Party open letter sent to him in June that migrants need to have clear and achievable pathways to residency?Hon KRIS FAAFOI (Minister of Immigration): Can I thank the member for his letter of June. The letter itself included some measures that were aligned to the work we were already progressing on the 2021 resident visa and some others that were not. I do agree that providing temporary migrants with certainty over their future in New Zealand is a priority and that is why the Government has announced a one-off residence pathway that will be available to up to 165000 migrants. The visa will create a residence pathway for over 5000 health- and aged-care workers 9000 primary industry workers and more than 800 teachers. The Government is proud of this announcement. We've listened to calls from migrants and their employers and I note the advocacy of the member. Teanau Tuiono: Does he agree with the Pacific Leadership Forum who in their petition for pathways to residency called for an amnesty for overstayers?Hon KRIS FAAFOI: I do acknowledge calls for action around overstayers. The Government has said that we will consider this alongside the wider rebalance of our immigration settings. I will note that with the residence visa announced today around 5000 people from the Pacific will be able to apply for it and that's what we forecast in terms of eligibility. We also acknowledge the work that we've done to open up a quarantine-free travel bubble in order to allow workers from the likes of Tonga Samoa and Vanuatu in terms of our commitment to the Pacific and I also want to outline our commitment to the likes of the Samoan quota and Pacific access category and when the borders are able to open more freely our commitment to those quotas and a commitment to ensure that we backdate some of the capacity that we haven't been able to have into New Zealand because of the border closures.Teanau Tuiono: Will the Government grant an age waiver under the one-off residency visa for migrants who are over the age of eligibility due to the processing backlog?Hon KRIS FAAFOI: If people have aged out because they have been in the queue the answer to that question is yes. The other thing I want to note and point out around the first wave of applications which start in December is that anyone who has an expression of interest application in at the moment with a dependent child 17 years or over will also be prioritised. We understand the difficulties that those people are facing in terms of delays but also that they want certainty for their children if they are to be domestic fee-paying students next year. Teanau Tuiono: Will he review the current health requirements that prevent people like Aisling Smyth who has a mild multiple sclerosis diagnosis from obtaining residency?Hon KRIS FAAFOI: I understand that both Immigration New Zealand and the Ministry of Health are undertaking a review of those settings at the moment. It hasn't come to Ministers for a final sign-off yet but I understand some of the concerns that have been raised around some of those settings.Teanau Tuiono: What is his message to people who have lived in Aotearoa for more than three years but are now stuck offshore due to the pandemic and may not qualify for the residency programme as a result of border closures through no fault of their own?Hon KRIS FAAFOI: I understand that because of the border closures some people have been put in difficult positions. When you propose and announce a residence visa of the ilk that we have today you do have to have some bounds in which to make people eligible. I think the fact that we've said to 165000 people who are here in New Zealand already contributing to our economy in our communities and becoming settled in those communities and who have supported the economy in their communities over the last three years and who have offered their skills or have scarce skills that we want to maintain in New Zealand a new pathway to residence which is streamlined that is open to them for the next 10 months is a vast improvement on some of the concerns that they've had in recent months.Teanau Tuiono: Does the Government consider migrants earning less than $27 an hour unskilled and therefore ineligible for the one-off residency programme and if so why?Hon KRIS FAAFOI: No we don't. The member will know that there are three kind of key criteria in terms of the residence visa that has been announced today: if people have been here three years if they earn over the $27-an-hour mark or if they are in loose terms scarce skilled labour. What we are saying to the 165000 people that are eligible—an overwhelming number of people who are on temporary visas—is that we support you and your long-term future in New Zealand.