10. Question No. 10—ImmigrationRICARDO MENÉNDEZ MARCH (Green) to the Minister of ImmigrationQuestion No. 10—Immigration10. RICARDO MENÉNDEZ MARCH (Green) to the Minister of Immigration: Is he confident that current visa settings reflect New Zealand's relationship with the Pacific?Hon MICHAEL WOOD (Minister of Immigration): Yes I am. New Zealand values our relationship with the Pacific and we have welcomed thousands of people to our shores from the Pacific so far this year. Across the immigration system there are unique pathways that reflect our strong relationship with the region including the fact that we opened the border to the Pacific earlier than the rest of the world; the Samoan quota which provides for 1100 Samoan citizens to apply for residence in New Zealand each year; the Pacific access category which provides for 650 residence visas available to citizens of Fiji Tonga Tuvalu and Kiribati; the Recognised Seasonal Employer scheme; the recently announced sector agreements which allow people from the Pacific to obtain visas for seasonal or part-time jobs; and also the fact that applicants for visitor visas from most Pacific countries pay lower visa application fees than other countries. Our Government's also acknowledged and apologised for the Dawn Raids. Decisions on individual cases are a matter for immigration officers and they need to strike a balance and consider cases on their merits. We continue to work with our Pacific neighbours to make sure our immigration settings enhance our relationship with our partners.Ricardo Menéndez March: Why are so many Pacific Island countries listed as non – visa-waiver countries for the purposes of applying for visitor visas?Hon MICHAEL WOOD: New Zealand has relationships with a whole range of countries some of which are visa-waiver countries and some are not. Those are matters for bilateral discussions with those countries. It is the case that around about 20 years ago New Zealand made a policy decision to have a consistent approach across all Pacific countries rather than a differential approach that applied up until that point.Teanau Tuiono: Does he agree with the Minister for Pacific Peoples who as reported by Radio Waatea is unhappy with the current non-visa and said I've always believed that the Pacific needs to be treated differently on the basis that our foundational principles for engagement are whanaungatanga manaakitanga kaitiakitanga"?Hon MICHAEL WOOD: I strongly agree with those values for our engagement with our Pacific neighbours. Indeed referring back to my primary answer that is why New Zealand does have a special relationship with the Pacific that is reflected within our visa settings. We have special residency arrangements with Samoa and with our broader Pacific partners. We opened our borders earlier in recognition of the close familiar cultural and community links that we have with the Pacific. In many respects we have a relationship that is reflected very well through our immigration settings. We will continue to examine it to ensure that we do reflect those values.Teanau Tuiono: Then why do Pacific peoples make up half of total rejections for visitor visas?Hon MICHAEL WOOD: In respect of visitor visa declines it is important to note that the vast majority of visitor visa applications from the Pacific are in fact approved. I went back and checked this matter with my officials after it was recently raised publicly. Between 1 August and 6 October this year over 85 percent of visitor visa applications from Tonga were approved; from Fiji Kiribati and Samoa over 90 percent were approved; and from Papua New Guinea the Solomon Islands and Vanuatu over 95 percent were approved. So I am confident that a fair approach is applied. It is important to note that whenever visitor visa applications are assessed whatever country they are assessed from they are assessed on a case by case basis and on the same basis regardless of which country the application is made from.Teanau Tuiono: Point of order Mr Speaker. My question was about the rejections—half of the rejections are from the Pacific. The response was about the different things that they were doing about opening up for the visas. I wanted to get to what the question was focusing on: the rejections and why half of them are from the Pacific.SPEAKER: That was definitely addressed within the Minister's answer. He actually answered it.Teanau Tuiono: Why do people from the Pacific face more barriers to visit family in Aotearoa than someone from the US the UK and Canada?Hon MICHAEL WOOD: I don't accept the premise of the member's question. While it is correct that some of the countries that the member has listed are visa-waiver countries that is a matter for bilateral discussion between the countries that are concerned. Every person applying for a visitor visa from the Pacific has that application assessed in exactly the same way that people from other non – visitor-waiver countries will have their applications assessed. As I have outlined in my previous answer the vast majority of those applications are approved. As in fact I outlined in my primary answer we enabled people from the Pacific to apply for visas to visit New Zealand effectively reopening our borders to the Pacific earlier than for all other countries as we reconnected New Zealand in 2022. So I am confident in our approach in this area."