The Government of New Zealand is exploring the possibility of implementing a Ukraine-style visa scheme to facilitate the entry of Palestinian citizens, according to local media reports.

Palestinians can only apply for regular visitor visas to visit their family members in New Zealand. The country’s immigration minister, Erica Stanford, has requested an assessment of the potential number of Palestinians who could apply to reunite with their relatives in New Zealand if such a visa scheme were to be introduced.

While no final decision has been made, this move by the New Zealand government comes in response to calls from several organisations and the country’s Labour Party to establish a humanitarian visa for Palestinians, particularly those from Gaza.

Prior to this, the Labour Party had urged the previous government to introduce a “Special Gaza Visa” to enable Gazans with ties in New Zealand to join their families.

In 2022, the then-Labour government introduced a Special Ukraine Visa to provide Ukrainian nationals with connections in New Zealand the opportunity to reunite with their families.

Now, the current Labour Party is calling on the government to extend a similar policy to Palestinians, drawing parallels with the Ukraine-style visa scheme.