Entry rules eased for migrants

By AUDREY YOUNG

The qualifying threshold for potential immigrants was lowered again yesterday in a bid to boost the number of residency approvals in a flagging immigration market.

The movement of the points is expected to allow 1100 more people to become residents - once they are vetted and invited to apply.

Yesterday's selection was the 10th made since the new system took effect in December, when the points threshold was set at 195.

Yesterday the threshold was dropped from 150 to 140.

Under the new immigration system, selections are made every fortnight. The pass mark has been dropping steadily as it becomes apparent that New Zealand is not being overrun with applicants.

At present, about 5000 people with a minimum 100 points are registered in a pool as possible immigrants.

The skilled migrant category has slumped to just 517 approvals since December, but Immigration Minister Paul Swain is confident that targets will be "back on track" within a year.

The Government is willing to accept up to 50,000 new immigrants in the present financial year, he announced on Friday.

But yesterday, Mr Swain said the formal target was the same as last year - 45,000, with a tolerance up or down of 5000 - rather than being formally set at 50,000.

He acknowledged that his earlier statements had not been clear.

The original statement referred to New Zealand accepting 50,000 new residents. The statement also referred to "a higher target" for the present year, and Mr Swain told the Herald in an interview about the new target that he had "lifted it to 50,000".

"I think it's fair to say the statement could have been clearer," he said yesterday after the Prime Minister corrected the impression that a formal target of 50,000 had been set.

The Cabinet had approved a target of 45,000 plus or minus 5000, Helen Clark said during questions at a press conference with Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra.

Mr Swain echoed that: "The Government's target of 45,000, plus or minus 5000, hasn't changed and won't be changing in the foreseeable future. Is that clear?"

The news coverage of the "higher target" yesterday and the day before is thought to have been a strong contributor in lifting the share price of Fletcher Construction by 13c yesterday and 11c the day before.

The minister and Immigration Service were strongly criticised yesterday by the New Zealand Association for Immigration and Investment, which represents more than 200 immigration and investment specialists.

"It defies common sense to imagine that you can succeed in meeting a higher target when you've already failed miserably to meet a lower one," said spokesman Bill Milnes.

"One of the key reasons we don't have enough skilled migrants is that people have been put off by constant policy changes and by our new, unwelcoming, time-consuming and cumbersome invitation-only procedure.

"Why should would-be migrants with internationally marketable skills expose themselves to this rigmarole when other affluent countries offer more straightforward, welcoming and dependable procedures?"

Where they're from

The 1100 potential immigrants selected yesterday come from

Britain 25 per cent

China 19 per cent

India 13 per cent

South Africa 7 per cent

Fiji 4 per cent

United States 4 per cent

South Korea 3 per cent

Zimbabwe 3 per cent

Japan 2 per cent

Germany 2 per cent

Others 17 per cent