Billionaires have ‘critical worker’ visas

One of Britain’s richest men is enjoying his superyacht in Auckland as one of 466 “other critical workers” granted entry to New Zealand for their ties with America’s Cup teams.

The executives of multinational chemical powerhouse Ineos group continue to glide into Auckland via sea, with America’s Cup Team UK owner Jim Ratcliffe arriving on his $139 million yacht Sherpa this week.

Last week, Ratcliffe’s right-hand man and director of Ineos Group, Andrew Currie, arrived on his $173m superyacht Hampshire. Currie walked straight off Hampshire last Saturday into downtown Auckland, having quarantined on the yacht.

Both Ineos Group head honchos have entered New Zealand under a broadening of the eligibility for “other critical workers” related to America’s Cup teams.

A source connected with the Auckland marine industry said when asked if Ratcliffe was in the 74m Sherpa moored at Silo Marina downtown: “Of course he bloody is. Why else would you have carpet, seats and custom-made shoes and shoe storage boxes at the gangways? For the crew?”

Ineos Team UK crew were also seen this week boarding Sherpa. Ratcliffe is the fifth-richest person in Britain with a net worth of $26 billion. Currie is worth $8b. It is unclear what now constitutes “other critical worker” in Immigration New Zealand’s eyes, but it does extend to executives associated with the America’s Cup team owners and sponsors.

“Immigration New Zealand (INZ) can confirm that border exception requests for 466 individuals relating to America’s Cup teams have been approved via the ‘other critical worker’ process for a variety of roles, including some executives,” an Immigration NZ spokesperson said.

“A minor change was made to immigration instructions to clarify that ‘For the absence of doubt, coowners of America’s Cup syndicates may be considered other critical workers under H5.30.5(a)(ii)’. They are assessed against the same criteria as set out in immigration instructions for ‘other critical worker’.”

On top of this, Immigration has granted an undisclosed number of visas for “peripheral workers associated with the America’s Cup that are not part of the teams taking part in the event”, a spokesperson said.

The success of the various visa applications also depends on their connections to international yacht squadrons under which the three international America’s Cup syndicates operate, such as the British Royal Yacht Squadron and the New York Yacht Club. In particular, a letter of commendation from those yacht squadrons is understood to be part of the process for some “other critical worker” applications.

Auckland-based legal firm Queen City Law has represented several international clients applying for border exemptions to attend the America’s Cup event.