Transcript
The scheme randomly selects registered names out of a ballot and invites those selected and their immediate family members to apply for residence.
In Kiribati and Tuvalu the selected quota number is 75 each year, in Tonga and Fiji it's 250, and the Samoan Quota residents visa has a ballot of 1100 per year.
All those selected must be between the ages of 18 to 45 years old, with the requirements being that they or their partners must have a job offer that can pay enough to support their family in New Zealand and they also must be able to read, write and speak in English.
Sione Palavi, a former immigration officer from Tonga, said many of those selected never meet the requirements of the scheme.
"It's really hard you know. Some people just, you know it's hard for them to get a job offer here from New Zealand. So some of the applications were declined based on - without the job offer. Or the job offer doesn't meet the criteria we're looking at."
Mr Palavi says some New Zealand employers work together with the immigration department in Tonga to recruit applicants who have been selected in the ballot but they only recruit a small number of those who have been successfully picked in the ballot.
Immigration lawyer Richard Small has been working with migrants from the Pacific for more than 20 years. He says the scheme has many shortcomings.
"Who on earth would offer a job to someone they've never met, they've never been able to work for a trial period to prove themselves, they've never been able to even be interviewed. We are hearing of many families who are unable to uplift, take advantage of having their name drawn in the ballot, simply because they can't get over to look for employment."
Mr Palavi says the difficulties in being able to attain a job offer that meets the requirements has led to some employers illegally selling job offers to families who are desperate for residency.
"There's even a couple here, I met them a few years ago and they were telling me how they get their job offer - they pay a thousand something to the employer. And even though they were successful and they got their residency here and also for that job offer, but they didn't even get the chance to work for them."
New Zealand's Minister of Pacific Peoples, Alfred Ngaro, says the scheme reflects the special relationship the government has with the region.
"You know it's fair to recognise the relationship that we have with the Pacific and as you and I know, families are really important and that's the reason why we have the quotas."
Tighter immigration policies have led to significant falls in the number of approved Pacific migrants coming in to New Zealand each year.
But New Zealand's Immigration Minister Michael Woodhouse says the government is very generous to its Pacific neighbours.
"What we do have is very longstanding agreements with Pacific nations. We have a specific quota to enable both Samoan residents and other members of the Pacific to come and gain residence. So I think that we have a very generous visa arrangements that are quite unique and are not the same for any other country in the world."
Richard Small says the scheme needs changes.
"These policies are meant to reflect our special relationship with the pacific. If that is still the intention then make them work as they're intended. Make them fair and transparent." richard 5 [9 secs]
Applications to register for the Pacific Access Category and Samoan Quota Resident visas for 2017 are now open.
