The Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand has launched a petition urging the government to grant visa-free travel to visitors from Pacific Island nations, arguing that current visa policies unfairly disadvantage New Zealand’s closest regional neighbors.
Teanau Tuiono, the Greens’ Pacific Peoples spokesperson, emphasized that New Zealand, as part of the “family of Pacific nations,” should eliminate “unfair barriers to entry for our Pacific whānau.” Despite 60 countries enjoying visa-free entry to New Zealand, no Pacific Island nation is included on the list.
The petition comes amid rising calls from Pacific leaders, including the Prime Ministers of Fiji, Samoa, and the Solomon Islands, who have advocated for easier movement within the region. Last year, Samoan Prime Minister Fiame Naomi Mata’afa and Solomon Islands Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare both pushed for visa waiver access to New Zealand.
While Prime Minister Christopher Luxon recently announced nearly NZ$27 million in funding for projects in Fiji and removed the need for transit visas for Fijians traveling through New Zealand, full visa-free access for Pacific nations remains absent from the government’s agenda.
