Overseas NZers promised a better home country

RADIO NEW ZEALAND: The National Party says it will make it easier and more attractive for New Zealanders living overseas to move back home.

It has released its immigration policy which it says aims to stem what it calls the exodus of New Zealanders.

National's Immigration spokesperson, Lockwood Smith, says New Zealand has lost more than 80,000 people overseas permanently in the past 12 months.

Dr Smith says National's tax, regulatory and infrastructure policies will make returning to New Zealand an attractive prospect for highly skilled expats.

He says National will also get rid of other barriers in the way.

"Simple things like driver's licences, belongings coming back and issues around qualifications of partners or spouses that are from overseas - there are a whole range of bureaucratic problems that stand in the way of Kiwis coming home."

Dr Smith says National will also better match the skills of immigrants with employment needs, and will introduce new types of visas.

It aims to establish a retirement visa for high net-worth people wanting to live in New Zealand, and set what it calls realistic investment capital and English language requirements for business immigrants.

The party wants to review Immigration New Zealand, whose reputation it says has been damaged by countless scandals.

Lockwood Smith says access to skilled workers is the main concern for businesses in this country. He says the Government's business migrants policy has destroyed business immigration.

Immigration Minister Clayton Cosgrove, says National's policy would allow people with enough money to effectively buy residency without the appropriate checks and balances.

The Engineering, Printing and Manufacturing Union says the policy will allow businesses easier access to overseas workers.

The union says the policy, released yesterday, gives priority to filling skills gaps from overseas labour markets rather than investing in the local workforce.