garryhg

sorry this might sound like a silly question,but its been on my mind for a while.....

if New Zealand is a British Colony why do Brits have to apply to immigrate.....

why are we not free to just come and go as we please...

or is it only Britain that does this....jacky

happynz

Simple, really. New Zealand is not a British Colony.

garryhg

well there you go,i always thought it was.....shows you how much research i did before coming over........jacky

happynz

Ah, but you are here enjoying the lovely summer weather, eh?

garryhg

loving the weather,the people ,everything....well apart from the flies:curse:....jacky

crap coffee

I am with you. In fact I have been thinking about the same issue for a long time. WHY do Brits have to apply to immigrate.....?

It doesn't seem fair ?

RobClubley

Just imagine if all you had to do was save up 600 quid for a flight - the place would be full of all sorts of undesirables!!

I think NZ's immigration policy is pretty good.

Kippers

Australia is New Zealand's colony.
Kiwi's have been colonising it for years

Kip

Elizabeth I

Elizabeth I

I agree. I think we should be allowed to cruise around any of the old Empire haunts free and unrestricted whenever we please.

Nerine

So where were you born Elizabeth I?

Elizabeth I

Greenwich Palace.

Kiwiprincess

hehe and if that was the case i would be happily entrenched back in London right now.....why can't kiwis move to the UK?

sorry, just saw the flip side of that straight away

Wouldn't love to live in London as an older person (unless i was super rich) but i loved the uk and i was in love with London and would happily go back to the UK. Sniff sniff sniff.

Actually my grandmother got very annoyed when she heard i couldn't live there permanently. Quote "you grandfather just about died in Germany in WW2 and you can't live there for another six months but someone from Germany can?!!"

I didn't bother explaining it to my grandmother. Just smiled....

Though personally, i really think a swap system would be brilliant. If i can find a person to swap countries with then i can stay

A friend (who works for the Home Office!) said i was an idiot after i suggested my theory to him!

uk+kiwi

Probably a daft suggestion, but have you already checked that you not eligible for British citizenship via descent? Normally, it can only be 'passed down' once though which I would guess was to your mother/father. But it's worth checking, assuming your Grandfather was British and then especially if either of your parents were born in the UK or lived in the UK themselves for a period eligible for citizenship in their own right.

I suspect you have and you are not, as my own grandchildren will not be eligible for NZ citizenship (hubbie is an NZ born kiwi citizen) unless their babies are born in NZ or my children live in NZ as children (they haven't)and 'upgrade' their own NZ citizenship by descent.

Here's the official explanation from the UK immigration website:
UK Born Grandparent

It is not generally possible to claim citizenship through an UK born grandparent.

All British citizens are designated as "by descent" or "otherwise than by descent" and only the latter can pass on their status to children born overseas.

Therefore, if you and your parent(s) were born outside the UK and your grandparents born in the UK, your parent(s) will normally be British by descent and unable to pass on their status to you as the second generation born overseas. The following exceptions apply:

* a person born overseas to a parent born in the UK is a citizen by descent. However, if they have lived in the UK for a continuous period of three years they can apply to the Home Office to register their children born overseas as British citizens while the child is under one year old.
* a person born overseas before 1 January 1983 to a father who was in Crown Service at the time of their birth may have become a citizen otherwise than by descent on 1 January 1983 with the introduction of the British Nationality Act 1981. The father must have been recruited in the UK to serve the British government overseas. In these circumstances, citizenship can be passed on automatically to their children born overseas after 1 January 1983.
* A child born overseas after 01 Jan1983 to a parent in Crown Service will be a citizen otherwise than by descent and able to pass on their status.
* A commonwealth citizen with a UK born grandparent may be eligible to apply for a UK Ancestry visa allowing entry to the UK for purposes of work and, after a qualifying period, for permanent settlement and citizenship. Further information can be obtained from the Visa pages of this web-site.

Elizabeth I

I think it's a rather good idea actually! ....at least it evens out the numbers...lol...