Over 100 Samoans who have successfully gained their New Zealand citizenship since the passing of the Samoa Citizenship Restoration Act are not eligible for the New Zealand citizenship benefits. 

They will be facing a 10-year wait before they are eligible for pensions. A Pacific leader, Teleiai Edwin Puni, in an interview with the media in New Zealand, shared the challenges for local Samoans moving to New Zealand. He also shared his concerns about the elderly's welfare. 

"The restoration of the Samoan of those entitled to be New Zealand citizens took 42 years, and many have passed away. That is the hardest part of this exercise is that many have passed who were denied their rights to be New Zealand citizens," Teleiai said. 

"Now, we have a small number of those who are still alive, and now another hurdle is that coming to New Zealand, not knowing what to apply for, what they are entitled to, is another barrier for them to get what they are entitled to. 

"A foundation has again stepped in, a local South Auckland charitable organisation, to try and facilitate, help guide them through what sort of paperwork they need to do before they go, what other services they can ask for, when they go for medical check-ups. Housing is now also an area that they need support with. So, that's the lowdown of where things are."

For the pension benefit, they need to be in New Zealand for at least 10 years, which is a real concern for Teleiai, as he said, he doesn't know whether the elderly will still be around by then.

The Citizenship (Western Samoa) (Restoration) Amendment Bill applies to those born in Western Samoa between 13 May 1924 and 1 January 1949.  The law does not extend citizenship to the descendants of those affected by the 1982 Act, except if they were born in the British Empire before 1 January 1949.