Hundreds let in due to Cup team ties

More than 700 foreign citizens have been given the all-clear to enter New Zealand since our borders were closed for their connection with the America’s Cup — including at least 200 dependents.

It is likely that about half the 753 visas Immigration NZ has granted under a variety of “critical worker” visa categories for the Auckland event could be family members of actual Cup workers.

What roles these 753 people actually fill at the Cup is unclear, but a substantial portion of them are not directly involved with the racing.

For example, executives of the companies which sponsor the teams have been let in, such as Ineos chemical group director Andrew Currie.

Some of the owners of the syndicates, including Ineos founder Jim Ratcliffe of Team UK, and Amway chairman Doug DeVos, who co-owns American Magic, have also used their visas to enter New Zealand.

At the other end of the scale, Italian team Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli was declined critical workers’ visas for two hospitality managers.

Prioritising the entry . . . suggests the Government’s priorities are out of whack. Economist Eric Crampton

Immigration NZ has only declined

40 visas which have been applied for travel related to the America’s Cup.

The Herald obtained these numbers via the think tank NZ Initiative’s chief economist Dr Eric Crampton — who requested the numbers from the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment via the Official Information Act.

“Priority at the border has been and should be returning Kiwis. The Government consequently reserves only a small number of spaces for workers essential to a wide variety of industry and business needs,” Crampton wrote in the NZ Initiative’s weekly newsletter, Insights.

“Taking up hundreds of MIQ spaces for what is fundamentally a large government project — a boat race that would not be occurring in the absence of some quarter of a billion dollars in public funding — means fewer spaces are available for workers critically important for other projects.

“Prioritising the entry of hundreds of dependents of boat-race workers over workers already here who [want to bring in their families], suggests the Government’s priorities are out of whack.”

Based off Immigration NZ’s visa application process, it is likely about half of the 753 visas are dependents of actual Cup workers.

Immigration NZ granted a total of

543 workers and 524 dependents an exception to New Zealand’s border closure, and invited them to apply for the variety of “critical worker” category visas — which is a separate process.

Of those 1067 border exemptions,

753 were successful in their visa application, and 40 unsuccessful and 16 still waiting for a decision.

Minister of Immigration Kris Faafoi has been contacted for comment, but could not respond by time of publication.

Your guide to the weekend’s action A10-111