New Zealand High Commissioner to Fiji, Charlotte Darlow, has refrained from providing a definitive stance on Fiji’s calls for visa-free travel.
In response to the issue, Darlow stated that it had been discussed at an official level, but she did not elaborate further on the matter.
“I think the [NZ] Minister for Defence said the PM raised it when he was in NZ on his official visit, so I take that as official level discussion.”
During the Pacific Update event at the University of the South Pacific in Suva this week, Fiji’s Deputy Prime Minister Professor Biman Prasad, expressed the country’s hopes that New Zealand and Australia would consider including Fiji and other Pacific Island Countries (PICs) in their visa-waiver lists.
Darlow mentioned the close partnership between the two nations and acknowledged the existence of current visa arrangements. However, she declined to comment beyond those statements, stating, she “cannot comment on anything further than that.”
New Zealand currently permits visa-free travel for citizens of 60 countries and territories, provided they hold a New Zealand Electronic Travel Authority (NZETA). Pacific island countries are excluded from this list, except New Zealand realm countries such as Niue, Tokelau, and the Cook Islands, whose citizens are considered New Zealand citizens and as such could reside and work in New Zealand.
Photo: File
