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As a New Zealander, I'd say we're unashamed in trying to balance the welfare of our citizens with growth opportunities from new immigrants. If you're likely to

As a New Zealander, I'd say we're unashamed in trying to balance the welfare of our citizens with growth opportunities from new immigrants. If you're likely to be a drain on the public healthcare system, then you're not likely to get permission to live here. Why? It's not fair to those people who have already paid into the system, to subsidise someone who hasn't. And we are picky. There's no visa lottery here. A points-based system with high thresholds. And that's OK. Same as Australia. Same as Canada.

debacle 8y ago
You are picky because NZ is likely the trendiest place to immigrate to in the last 30-40 years. It would be silly + unfair to current NZ citizens if you guys weren't picky.
kleim 8y ago
In France we have a special health insurance policy dedicated for treating illegal immigrants ("AME: Aide Médicale d'État"). Yup... Too bad that many people will call you a racist if you ever start to say it is unfair for people who already paid into the system.
- komali2 8y ago
  Why is it unfair? France is a democracy, presumably this law that established this policy was decided by elected officials. You can easily not like it, but it is certainly "fair." Unless you believe it is illegal?
  - Zarath 8y ago
    Just like people "voted" to remove net neutrality in the US
joering2 8y ago
Perfect system, oh boy a true utopia! And then you guys have Peter Thiel getting citizenship after visiting for 12 days :) https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/jun/29/new-zealand-gave-peter-thiel-citizenship-after-spending-just-12-days-there https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/jun/29/new-zealand-ga... Edit: oh sorry, he's "a great ambassador for New Zealand"
bacon_waffle 8y ago
> And we are picky. There's no visa lottery here. A points-based system with high thresholds. As a practical matter, it seems that the immigration officer you wind up with does have an impact on your application's success. I was initially turned down for a Skilled Migrant visa (which I believe is what you're referring to) because I had work experience in IT, but a degree in electrical and computer engineering, and though the points from those combined were well over the higher threshold (and both on the skills shortage lists at the time, ~2010), they weren't in the same enough field according to my assigned officer. That meant that I had to pick which one I wanted to use, but neither by itself put me over the line... An expat friend of mine had a similar experience. I don't mean this to be a slight on Immigration NZ, just that the process can feel a bit arbitrary and bureaucratic - like a lottery. It creates a chicken-and-egg problem too: in order to get a skilled migrant visa, you really want a job offer, but you're only going to get a job offer by coming here and looking around in person...

debacle 8y ago

You are picky because NZ is likely the trendiest place to immigrate to in the last 30-40 years. It would be silly + unfair to current NZ citizens if you guys weren't picky.

kleim 8y ago

In France we have a special health insurance policy dedicated for treating illegal immigrants ("AME: Aide Médicale d'État"). Yup... Too bad that many people will call you a racist if you ever start to say it is unfair for people who already paid into the system.

komali2 8y ago
Why is it unfair? France is a democracy, presumably this law that established this policy was decided by elected officials. You can easily not like it, but it is certainly "fair." Unless you believe it is illegal?
- Zarath 8y ago
  Just like people "voted" to remove net neutrality in the US

joering2 8y ago

Perfect system, oh boy a true utopia! And then you guys have Peter Thiel getting citizenship after visiting for 12 days :) https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/jun/29/new-zealand-gave-peter-thiel-citizenship-after-spending-just-12-days-there https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/jun/29/new-zealand-ga... Edit: oh sorry, he's "a great ambassador for New Zealand"

bacon_waffle 8y ago

> And we are picky. There's no visa lottery here. A points-based system with high thresholds. As a practical matter, it seems that the immigration officer you wind up with does have an impact on your application's success. I was initially turned down for a Skilled Migrant visa (which I believe is what you're referring to) because I had work experience in IT, but a degree in electrical and computer engineering, and though the points from those combined were well over the higher threshold (and both on the skills shortage lists at the time, ~2010), they weren't in the same enough field according to my assigned officer. That meant that I had to pick which one I wanted to use, but neither by itself put me over the line... An expat friend of mine had a similar experience. I don't mean this to be a slight on Immigration NZ, just that the process can feel a bit arbitrary and bureaucratic - like a lottery. It creates a chicken-and-egg problem too: in order to get a skilled migrant visa, you really want a job offer, but you're only going to get a job offer by coming here and looking around in person...