Fast visas and longer job stays for Chinese

President Xi Jinping of China walks with Prime Minister John Key. Photo / Getty Images

More wealthy Chinese visitors will have their New Zealand visas fast-tracked as part of a new joint agreement signed between the two countries' leaders this week.

Younger Chinese will also be able to work for a longer period in this country as a result of a series of new deals made between Prime Minister John Key and Xi Jinping on Thursday.

As part of a strategy to capture high-value Chinese tourists, Immigration New Zealand has agreed to streamline visas for Chinese residents who held platinum or diamond UnionPay credit cards.

Card holders would no longer have to provide evidence that they had funds to support themselves or evidence of employment.

Immigration Minister Michael Woodhouse said visa processing was an important factor in tourists' choice of destination, and the move was crucial to tapping into the growing Chinese middle class and their tourism dollars.

He said premium card holders were not considered an immigration risk because they were certain to have the means to look after themselves.

Fast-tracked entry to New Zealand for Chinese visitors was established in November 2012 through a deal with frequent flyers on China Southern Airlines.

China is already New Zealand's second-largest source of visitors, and latest figures showed close to $1 billion in spending by Chinese visitors in the past year.

In a second change, the China Working Holiday Scheme would be extended from three months to six months.

Mr Woodhouse said the scheme, which applied to 18- to 30-year-olds, had been "wildly popular" and the 1000 allocated visas were snapped up within a day when they were balloted in July.

The new agreement brought China's scheme into line with countries with which New Zealand had very close relationships such as the United Kingdom, though unlike these countries the number of Chinese working holiday visas was still capped.

Mr Woodhouse said there was no consideration at this point of raising or removing the quota of 1000.

Labour's immigration spokesman Trevor Mallard said he fully supported the changes to the working visa scheme but said he had "some anxiety" about the visa processing changes.

He said there had been ongoing problems at intercepting Chinese visitors with criminal backgrounds, particularly because of the use of multiple names, and this change had the potential to make it easier for these people to access New Zealand.

Mr Woodhouse said there had been "hundreds if not thousands" of people who had their entry streamlined through the China Southern Airlines deal and there "had not been a single problem with them". All visitors would still have to pass good character and health tests.