Radio New Zealand - Te Reo Irirangi o Aotearoa

Fiji dual residency offer welcomed by NZ-based expats

Posted at 01:43 on 24 November, 2008 UTC

The Fiji Indian Association in Wellington says the interim government’s decision to grant dual residency to its former citizens is progressive.

The interim government has announced former Fiji citizens living abroad will be entitled to automatic residency status at a cost of 1,860 US dollars from next year, giving them the right to reside, work and invest in the country.

It’s also setting up a foreign currency accounts scheme to make it easier for them to send money to Fiji.

The Fiji Indian Association’s president, Salim Singh, has welcomed the announcement, but says he doubts that too many people will make use of it.

“Until and unless there’s a return to a democratic system of government, I don’t think that it’ll attact an exodus of ex-Fiji citizens to Fiji. If the political environment is unstable, then of course people will be loathed to invest.”

Salim Singh, the president of the Fiji Indian Association in Wellington.