Cultivating Kiwi connections around the world.
The Green Party will ensure all New Zealanders living overseas can feel connected to home.
More and more New Zealanders are leaving for overseas, particularly as a result of the current Government’s choices.
The Luxon Government has forgotten that they are supposed to represent the 15% of New Zealanders who live overseas too. While the cost of living has hit hard around the world, they decided to increase interest rates on student loans for New Zealanders overseas, making it harder for them to come home.
The Green Party understands that Aotearoa is about all its people, wherever in the world they are. We will ensure everyone living overseas is meaningfully connected to home, and can continue to have a say in our democracy. We will support tangata whenua to ensure they can always return to their turangawaewae, no matter where they were born.
Wherever we are in the world, Aotearoa is a special place that we should all feel connected to. It’s time we took a compassionate approach to all our whānau living overseas.
Our plan
- Enable a tikanga-based pathway for people who whakapapa Māori to establish Aotearoa citizenship, regardless of country of residence or birth.
- Reduce and re-balance student loan repayments and interest rates for overseas student loan borrowers, extend the repayment holiday for overseas borrowers, and abolish border arrests for student loan repayment violations.
- Extend the time that overseas New Zealanders can spend outside Aotearoa without losing voting eligibility.
- Restore the 10-year period for time spent in Aotearoa New Zealand to be eligible for superannuation.
- Pursue reciprocal health care, welfare support and visa waiver arrangements with other countries, and widen existing agreements to include temporary visitors.