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Thousands of overseas-born parents and grandparents are waiting for news on if and when they can apply for residence.
Almost 9000 families are waiting for the government to restart parent category applications.
Thousands more are anxious to see whether a government review will change criteria that mean only sponsoring children earning double the median wage can apply.
Some who have been here since the pandemic face having to leave or be deported, while others are desperate to join their families.
And of those already on the waiting list in 2019, 85 percent were not eligible because of the salary threshold.
'In Russia, I have now nothing and nobody'
The financial support is not an issue for Elena Zueva, who is 67, but her immediate future is.
She was visiting her daughter here at the start of 2020 when the pandemic broke out, and her visitor visa expires soon.
"The result is that I have to leave by the end of September. In Russia, I have now nothing and nobody because my life is here. It's very hard. It's really hard because I live my own life with my dog which is adopted from SPCA, he has three legs only. It's not possible not to think [about what might happen] but I try to think as little as possible."
She volunteers at Auckland charities including BirdCare Aotearoa and the Grey Lynn hospice shop and said parents were not a burden. She has been appealing to authorities to let her stay.
"Nobody cares for parents in my situation. I'm not asking for anything, just allow me to stay here. I am giving to the government - I don't need their help."
Elena Zueva doesn't want anything from the government, except the chance to settle in New Zealand. Photo: Supplied
Other migrants, still overseas, who want to settle here with their adult children and grandchildren are also awaiting news.
Pranav Birla came to New Zealand from India 14 years ago and is a citizen, working in IT.
He acknowledged being separated from family was a decision he made when he emigrated, but said when he came there was a clear pathway for parents to eventually settle.
"My parents sold their house for me to come to New Zealand and now that they need me, and they are older - our heart ends up being in two different places. And it's quite sad because we just feel helpless."
He applied for them to join him in 2016, but then the residence programme was suspended, pending a review.
It was reviewed under Labour and New Zealand First, which led to the category reopening in 2020, but was suspended when the border closed. Another review is now under way, and meanwhile no expressions of interest have been selected for the 1000 residence places a year.
"There's no communication, I desperately try and do whatever I can, commenting on the immigration minister's posts, respectfully asking for guidelines or whatever we can," Birla said. "And all we get told is it's coming, 'we're reviewing the requirements and it will be soon' and it's been ages.
"If I deal with my customers like we're being dealt with, we'll have no business - you can't just keep giving people false hope. I've got mates who have moved countries and they were in good jobs, this issue is so close to migrants' hearts."
Parent reviews
MBIE immigration policy manager Andrew Craig said about 5620 expressions of interest for the parent category had been submitted which includes about 8850 people.
"A review of the parent category is currently under way and will look at barriers to access and options to resume selections of expressions of interest. More details about when the parent category will be reopened will be shared following the outcome of the review."
A briefing to Immigration Minister Michael Wood from officials when he took over from Kris Faafoi in June 2022 showed what was being weighed up in the parent category.
"The timeline for reopening the category will be dependent on Cabinet decisions, the degree of public consultation you wish to undertake, the degree of system changes required for implementation, and any trade-offs involved in INZ's processing resources," officials said.
The ministerial briefing alluded to an increase in consultation, partly in answer to criticism that MBIE's immigration policy-making and INZ mechanisms were opaque.
"During the Covid period significant decisions such as the 2021 Resident Visa and Immigration Rebalance package were taken with only very targeted or no consultation. How this [consultation] is done will be part of addressing the Productivity Commission's somewhat unfair claim that immigration policy has become a black box."
On 21 September, Minister of Immigration Michael Wood announced the reopening of visa registrations from the Pacific.
Registrations for the Samoan quota will reopen on 3 October, and for the Pacific Access Category from 5 October.
Wood said these pathways would provide for up to 5900 people to become New Zealand residents over the next two years, helping reduce the impact of global labour shortages and helping grow the economy.
