Potential Changes to Parent Resident Visa — What This Means for You

Significant changes may be coming to the way Parent Resident Visas are selected by Immigration New Zealand.

On 12 December, a spokesperson from Immigration Minister Erica Stanford's office confirmed a review into the visa was underway following "significant feedback about the unfairness" of the current selection system. The spokesperson confirmed that returning to the previous system of a chronological queue is an alternative option being considered.

While no decisions have been made, advice is expected to be delivered to the Minister in early 2026 with a decision presumably being made shortly thereafter.

What are the options being talked about here?

Currently, applicants of the Parent Retirement Visa have two steps to go through. The first stage requires applicants submitting an expression of interest (EOI). If their EOI is selected, they then receive an invitation to apply (ITA) for the visa.

EOIs are randomly selected from a ballot that takes place quarterly, and are held in the ballot for two years. If EOIs are not selected within two years, they are automatically withdrawn from the ballot. There is no fixed number of EOIs selected from the ballot, but enough are selected to meet INZ's quota of granting 2,500 Parent Resident Visas per year.

The previous system was a chronological queue — first in, first served.

What's the problem with the current system?

The Minister's spokesperson makes reference to the "unfairness" of the current system. Ballots are random in nature and come down entirely to luck for whether an EOI is selected or not. Currently, there are 9,260 EOIs for Parent Resident Visas. Many of those EOIs will never be selected under the ballot system.

People have called for the system to be changed. A petition presented to Parliament calling for the system to revert back to a queue amassed over 11,000 signatures, with the petitioner, Sophie Liu, stating that a queue system would "provide more certainty, fairness and transparency."

As immigration professionals, we agree with the point Liu is making. With a queue, applicants know exactly where their place is in the queue and have certainty around how long they will have to wait. Under a ballot system, their place is entirely random.

Ballots are more problematic when considering the purpose for granting the visa. Parent Retirement Visas are granted to the parents of skilled New Zealand citizens and residents to foster family reunification to incentivise their adult child to continue working in New Zealand.

This contrasts with the Parent Retirement Category, which fosters family reunification through allowing financially independent parents to reside in New Zealand through investing into New Zealand's economy. Crucially, the pathway to family reunification is easier because visas are granted once an applicant meets requirements, rather than having to go through a lengthy EOI process.

Family is an important consideration for many New Zealanders, and their elderly parents not being able to enter New Zealand can often be the difference between the New Zealander choosing to stay and continue to contribute to the economy, or leaving New Zealand for elsewhere — and taking their skills with them. Parent Category visas focus on family reunification is a reflection of the values and priorities that New Zealanders hold.

By the name of the visa, they also tend to be granted to older people. Both parents and their New Zealand children want certainty over their future, and it is important for New Zealand's economic interests to incentivise skilled New Zealanders to remain in the country. While the visa is meant to do that, the ballot system reduces certainty for these New Zealanders that their parents can move here and adds unnecessary barriers and uncertainty for reuniting families.

Will I be better off with this change?

The answer is short to that question: it depends.

Ballots by their nature are random. If your EOI happens to be selected first out of the ballot, you would probably be worse off with this change.

However, planning futures is too important to leave to a gambler's chance. For many, there is no end in sight to the countless unsuccessful ballots their EOI has been part of. As referenced above in Radio New Zealand, there are over 9,000 EOIs and over 14,000 people included. In the 2025 ballots, only 1800 EOIs with 2,743 people were selected. That represents thousands of rejections at each ballot, with each rejection leading to more lost hope and more separation within families.

To provide certainty for parents looking to move to New Zealand and retire here, reverting back to a chronological queue would restore fairness and transparency to the selection process. Thresholds for sponsoring a parent are already high, and this only adds unnecessary burden. Most people would prefer a transparent process over rolling the dice in a randomised ballot.

So, what should I do now?

It should be noted that the Minister has only indicated this as one potential option. The system may not change, or it may change but with a different option selected. However, it is useful to keep this potential reform in mind when considering your options for retirement or relocating to New Zealand.

Whether this change happens or not, it is still important to keep informed with what is happening. You can contact us to review your chances of obtaining the visa, or even submit an EOI now. By submitting an EOI now, you may be closer to the front of the queue if and when one is introduced.