The New Zealand Government has announced the reopening of registration for the Samoan Quota and Pacific Access visa categories next month.

The Minister of Immigration, Michael Wood, has announced in a statement released on Wednesday that registrations for the Samoan Quota will reopen from Monday 3 October and the Pacific Access Category from Wednesday 5 October.

“This is a major milestone as the Pacific Access Category and the Samoan Quota are longstanding visa categories that enable people from our Pacific partner countries to become residents of New Zealand,” Mr. Wood said.

“It recognises the historical relationship between New Zealand and Pacific, and we are thrilled to see these categories opening again to our Pacific neighbours.

“Collectively these pathways will provide for up to 5,900 people to become residents over the next two years, helping reduce the impact of global labour shortages and help grow our economy."

According to Mr. Wood, all registrations for the ballots have to be done online to enable quicker processing for those registering, and they acknowledged that there could be challenges with that part of the registration process. 

“Registrations for the ballots will now primarily be made online. The move to online will see a quicker and more streamlined process for registrants, as ballots are only open for one month.

“We also recognise the impact the move to online will have in some circumstances, and work has been done to ensure there are resources available to ensure registrants have all the information they need to apply online with ease."

Mr. Wood said there will be a total of 5,900 places on offer over the next two years and this would include "unused places from the 2020/2021 ballots", which he said are being re-distributed.

“The 5,900 places over the next two years includes unused places from the 2020/2021 ballots which are being re-distributed. 

"The Pacific Access Category unused ballots will be re-allocated across the 2022 and 2023 years, while the Samoan Quota ballots will be re-allocated over the four years from 2022 to 2025.

“We look forward to welcoming more of our Pacific neighbours through these residence pathways."

The Samoan Quota registrations will be open from 3 October and close on 2 November, and registrations for the Pacific Access Category will be open from 5 October and close on 4 November.

In a "editor's note" at the end of the press release, the NZ Government said the transition to online applications builds on the "successful transition of the Pacific Island Forum County Visitor Visas and following consultation with Pacific Governments and other stakeholders." 

"We have established there was a wide comfort level from several Pacific countries to move to online applications. 

"This aligns with similar transitions made by the likes of Australia."

An applicants’ family or friends can also submit their application on their behalf, however, they will need to declare this on the application form.