Winston Peters signals wider Pacific visa changes after fee cut

Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters says cutting visitor visa fees for Pacific travellers is only the first step in making it easier for people from the region to visit New Zealand.

In an interview with William Terite on Pacific Mornings, Peters signalled more changes could follow, including longer visas and faster processing for urgent family situations.

From 1 June, the cost of applying for a visitor visa for Pacific nationals will fall from $216 to $161.

Peters says the move is a start but more improvements are being considered. “It doesn’t [go far enough] but it’s the beginning and it’s in the right direction,” he says.

The Government is now looking at extending some visitor visas from one year to two years to allow Pacific travellers to move easily between their home countries and Aotearoa.

Peters also says officials are working on a faster visa process for emergencies such as funerals or family crises.

Watch Vaovasamanaia Winston Peters' full interview below.

“There also is going to be an emergency group of civil servants whose job it is to ensure that when people are applying for a visa in emergency situations like a death, then it is acted with the greatest of speed.

“Because if you want to go to a funeral and it takes two weeks to get the visa, it's all over. It’s a tragedy and very, very sad for families so that’s another aspect.”

While the fee reduction may help some travellers, Pacific community advocate Arthur Anae says it does not address broader concerns about visa barriers.

Visitor visa fees for Pacific nationals will drop from $216 to $161 from 1 June but only temporarily. Photo/Supplied

“From the positive side, I can say yes it has some benefits for those who want to plan ahead,” Anae told Terite.

“But these are my problems… Why can't the Pacific people get the same privileges that the other people of the world get?”

Anae says concerns about visa overstayers are mostly overstated. “Only 4000 Pacific people have overstayed, that represents 0.078 per cent of New Zealand's population. Now, is that worth crying about?”

Anae recently led a petition calling for visa-on-arrival access for Pacific visitors.

Listen to Anae Arthur Anae's full interview below.

The petition gathered nearly 50,000 signatures and has now been referred to Parliament’s petitions committee, which will review submissions before making recommendations to the government.

Anae says the latest visa fee reduction should be seen as a small step, but argues more meaningful changes are still needed.

For many Pacific families with strong ties to Aotearoa, he says easier travel would strengthen family, cultural, and community connections across the region.