KEY POINTS:
The great Kiwi extended holiday to Britain is safe for now.
The British Government has backed away from plans to slash the time New Zealand tourists, business people and academics can stay without needing a visa.
But thousands could still be affected, as London is yet to announce whether the ancestry visa - which allows people whose grandparents were born in Britain to live there for four years and apply for residency - will be abolished.
Kiwis intending to visit the UK for up to six months will continue to have visa-free access. The Government had proposed to cut that to three months.
New Zealanders' traditional right of entry to Britain had been at risk because of the rise in immigrant numbers there.
Prime Minister Helen Clark said last night that objections from New Zealand helped persuade the British Home Office to keep access open.
"We have made a sustained effort to maintain the good level of access our people have traditionally enjoyed to Britain, and are very pleased with the response from the British Government," she said.
She had raised the issue with British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, and the New Zealand High Commission made a submission.
MPs from several parties in Britain had spoken in support of New Zealand.
"I think they had a good look at the tourism visa issue and realised that so many people who come to Britain spend their own money [and] contribute to the British economy, and to shorten the time of visa-free entry from six months to three didn't make any economic sense for them."
The Prime Minister is still awaiting a decision - expected next month - on the ancestry visa, about which she made a submission to the Home Office in March.
In 2006, 1940 New Zealanders holding visas based on ancestry entered Britain. The British High Commission said it received about 4000 applications a year from New Zealanders for ancestry visas.
Travel Agents Association president Peter Barlow said Britons could feel threatened by successful Kiwis.
"The sixth-month-visa thing is encouraging. The British see the New Zealanders as great tourists, great visitors and great workers, but at the same time they just don't want people wandering over there and taking long-term employment away from citizens."
Mr Barlow did not think the abolition of ancestry visas would affect too many people because New Zealanders on their OE were spending less time in Britain.
"I think New Zealanders will look at getting a real intensive short-term experience and coming back and trying to explore opportunity in New Zealand.
"The way the world is now - with the economic impact the world is experiencing - this is a safehouse down here."
The Home Office in February asked for public views on whether to abolish the "UK ancestry route" to settlement - and numerous other questions raised in a paper on reforming the immigration system.
Britain also considered reducing the time academic visitors could stay, but that will now remain at 12 months.
* THE ANCESTRY VISA
Introduced: 1972.
Allows: Commonwealth citizens aged 17 and over to go to Britain provided they can show they intend working.
Numbers: 1940 New Zealanders went to Britain on ancestry visas in 2006.
Applications: About 4000 New Zealanders apply for ancestry visas yearly.
- ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY NZPA
