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Visa holders pleading with NZ Government to return home

Author
Newstalk ZB staff,
Publish Date
Tue, 2 Jun 2020, 6:39PM
Immigration Minister Iain Lees-Galloway. (Photo / File)
Immigration Minister Iain Lees-Galloway. (Photo / File)

Visa holders pleading with NZ Government to return home

Author
Newstalk ZB staff,
Publish Date
Tue, 2 Jun 2020, 6:39PM

Life continues to get tough for work visa holders currently overseas.

It has been revealed those holding visas to work in Ne Zealand cannot return yet, as there is not enough room for them in quarantine.

Around 10,000 work visa holders are estimated to be out of the country. The majority of them want the Government to let them come home.

Immigration minster Iain Lees-Galloway told Heather du Plessis-Allan around 10,000 people who would ordinarily live in New Zealand are currently offshore..

Minister Lees-Galloway says they have a process in place to bring them in.

"There's a whole range of things that we need to consider. Obviously the border restrictions have been absolutely central to our successful suppression of Covid-19 in New Zealand. Around the rest of the world we're still seeing cases of Covid-19 increase."

He adds a key issue is quarantine, and the number of places they have available.

"We have the capacity to quarantine around 3,200 people at a time, that means in reality about 250 people a day can cross New Zealand's border and go into quarantine."

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