4 ms·
It isn't legal - he was granted an exception to the rules after being denied because he had a change of heart and donated $700m - for the first time ever - to t
by owenwil 10y ago
It isn't legal - he was granted an exception to the rules after being denied because he had a change of heart and donated $700m - for the first time ever - to the disaster fund, then applied again immediately. In NZ you must actually live there to gain citizenship, even if you pay.
- JumpCrisscross 10y ago> It isn't legal It appears the Internal Affairs Department may legally approve citizenship under "exceptional circumstances". And he is not alone: "one to two dozen [applicants] a year...are approved for citizenship by the minister of internal affairs under 'exceptional' circumstances" [1]. [1] https://www.nytimes.com/2017/02/01/business/peter-thiel-new-zealand-citizenship.html?em_pos=small&emc=edit_dk_20170201&nl=dealbook&nl_art=20&nlid=65508833&ref=headline&te=1 https://www.nytimes.com/2017/02/01/business/peter-thiel-new-...
- owenwil 10y agoYes! James Cameron got one of those - but they forced him and his family to live in the country for five years first! Odd.
- deleted 10y ago[deleted]
- conistonwater 10y agoEven if technically legal, that's still really quite dodgy.
- JumpCrisscross 10y agoI agree. But the proper response shouldn't be "that's illegal," but instead, that the interior minister should be stripped of that power.
- strken 10y agoWhy? That minister got the NZ public $700m USD in disaster relief in an exchange that cost them virtually nothing. If anything he should be given an award for outstanding excellence in the field of defrauding rich yanks. EDIT: 700k, not 700m. Still, not a bad deal.
- pryce 10y agoIt was 700k USD, not 700m., just to be clear. This is the price of a single suburban house in auckland.