9. Question No. 9—ImmigrationERICA STANFORD (National—East Coast Bays) (remote) to the Minister of ImmigrationQuestion No. 9—Immigration9. ERICA STANFORD (National—East Coast Bays) (remote) to the Minister of Immigration: Does he stand by his statement regarding doctors and nurses not being eligible to apply for the 2021 Resident Visa that we still want you and we still need your skills in the country and when we return to normal residency settings then they can apply"; if so can he explain what the criteria of the normal residency settings will be to give the doctors and nurses the certainty they need to stay in New Zealand?Hon KRIS FAAFOI (Minister of Immigration): Yes. Under the broad and streamlined 2021 resident visa policy we have already received over 2500 applications from migrants working in health and aged care. Officials expect around 10000 migrants working in health and aged care are likely to be eligible. There are some migrants working in health who may fall outside the criteria due to being students or working holidaymakers. If these migrants want to stay in New Zealand they can apply for a work visa to ensure they can continue to have work rights and a valid visa. Under established residency settings these workers will qualify when the category reopens this year. We are rebalancing our immigration settings with the intent of promoting higher skills and higher wages. These changes are likely to be to the advantage of migrant doctors and nurses.Erica Stanford: Does he believe that these migrant doctors and nurses who are not eligible for 2021 residence will stay in New Zealand based on his advice that they should just wait for normal residence settings to resume given he's not able to exactly say what these normal residency settings will be?Hon KRIS FAAFOI: Those doctors and nurses are all most likely to have the ability to remain in New Zealand if they get themselves on the likes of an essential skills work visa. As I've said the established criteria for residency are likely to mean these doctors and nurses are able to stay. As I say we are continuing to work through the final parts of our rebalanced package and they are likely to be advantaged by those settings.Erica Stanford: Is the Minister saying that the residency settings will not change later this year when he reopens them from what they are currently so those doctors and nurses will be eligible under current residency settings?Hon KRIS FAAFOI: If the member had listened to the answer to both my primary and supplementary question I've said that they're likely to be eligible under the established residency criteria. We are looking at those and when the skilled migrant category visa opens later this year—and as I said—the likes of doctors and nurses are likely to be advantaged by the new settings when we announce them.Erica Stanford: So which is it? Is it that doctors and nurses will be able to apply for residence under the established visa settings for residents that exist now or will they be new settings with new points and potentially new pay settings?Hon KRIS FAAFOI: As I said to the member last week—which is the nexus of her primary question—we still want these people to remain in New Zealand. We need these skills. Under the current settings they are likely to be able to stay. And as I said under the proposed settings—and the principles around the proposed settings—they are likely to be advantaged by them. So their future looks good in New Zealand.Erica Stanford: What does he say to Angela an emergency department nurse in Whangārei who is looking to head to the UK because she has been in residence limbo for three years is not eligible for the 2021 resident visa and cannot wait any longer for the certainty she needs to stay here?Hon KRIS FAAFOI: I would reflect what I've been saying to a number of questions that the member has been asking: if that person wants to stay in the country they can continue to apply for a visa and when the normal residency settings resume once applications for the 2021 resident visa come to an end at July this year then they will be able to—likely shortly after that—apply for residency. The path is still open to them.Erica Stanford: Does he think that saying that there will be a pathway to residence at some point in the future for these doctors and nurses is a better policy response than just granting them residence now under 2021 residence in order to stop them from leaving; and if so why are they still leaving?Hon KRIS FAAFOI: When the Government took the decision to introduce the 2021 resident visa we were dealing with a macro problem of employers wanting to make sure they had certainty and the employees wanting to make sure that they have certainty. That will as forecast be eligible for about 110000 people who will be able to get residency. The numbers around working holiday scheme or visa holders in New Zealand at the moment are about 4000 so it's obviously a much smaller tranche. Those people within that tranche who have the skills and the ability to stay on an essential skills work visa can get a visa to ensure they can stay in the country continue to work and when the applications for the resident visa end in July of this year and the normal criteria for a skilled migrant category resume those people will continue to be able to apply for residency."