A petition calling for a three-month visa on arrival for travelers from the Pacific to New Zealand has garnered more than 45,000 signatures.
Samoa Observer reports that on February 11, the petition will be handed to New Zealand First leader and Foreign Affairs Minister, Vaovasamanaia Winston Peters, on the steps of the New Zealand parliament by Samoan activist Anae Arthur Anae.
Anae is the organizer of the petition and leader of the Pacific Justice Movement.
Vaovasamanaia has stated in New Zealand media that visa costs and slow processing are the two biggest obstacles for Pacific people trying to travel to New Zealand, especially for family emergencies.
“The cost of the visa and the delays in getting it. If your grandmother or your mother were to die in New Zealand, you want to be on the next plane, and you should be able to get that within 24 hours,” Vaovasamanaia said.
Anae said it is expected that there will be large Pacific support, and this would be a defining moment for Pacific people, who will be standing together in seeking fairness.
“We identified 60 countries around the world that can arrive in a New Zealand airport and have a three-month visitor’s visa stamped into their passport, at no cost. And that total population is 1.65 billion people. The total population of our Pacific nations is less than 16 million… a fraction.”
