Religious leaders said current laws discriminate against respondents to a
“calling,” which is not a job advertisement, and hope the new law will
alleviate clergy shortages. Many successful visa applications require
evidence of paid work, a barrier for the Catholic Church, since a quarter of
New Zealand’s Catholic priests come from abroad. Buddhist priests are also
unpaid and face a similar problem.
“The policy restores a pathway to residency for priests and religious who
are here on temporary religious worker visas. This provides stability and
certainty for all concerned,” said Paul Bayliss, general manager of the
Catholic archdiocese of Wellington.
Fr. Carlo Cruz, a Filipino priest, told ONE News he sees the changes as “a
blessing.” “When I heard about this, you know it’s just like an answered
prayer and I feel great,” he said. “Many priests before struggled to get
their visa.”
Immigration minister Dr. Jonathan Coleman said as there was no residence
option available to religious workers, “some communities were having
trouble filling positions long-term.”
The announcement was also welcomed by The New Zealand Religious
Communities Leadership Forum, which represents The Federation of Islamic
Associations of New Zealand, New Zealand Indian Central Association,
New Zealand Buddhist Council, and the New Zealand Jewish Council.
“We have all six world religions in New Zealand supporting this new policy
direction,” said Forum convener Joan Buchanan. “This provides a pathway
we didn’t have before from a quagmire we couldn’t get out of.”
“We hope that the age limit will acknowledge the significant contribution of
senior ministers,” she said.
Wellington’s Anglican bishop Tom Brown said through a spokesperson that
the legislation is pleasing and will be a “huge benefit.” “It’s a big relief for
all of the churches, as it will allow them to look beyond the people who are
here.”
The changes came after public consultation, with 71 submissions received
from the Buddhist, Christian, Jewish and Hare Krishna faiths. Over 1,100
migrant religious workers were in New Zealand in 2009-2010.
