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Google co-founder and billionaire Larry Page has gained the right to live in New Zealand and has also entered New Zealand in the midst of border restrictions on the CCP virus, officials confirmed on Friday that very wealthy people In essence, he questioned whether he could buy access to New Zealand. Country.
A 48-year-old internet entrepreneur who promised to invest millions in South Pacific countries went to New Zealand last year under a special visa open to at least NZ $ 10 million ($ 7 million). I applied for residence. Invest, said the New Zealand Immigration Service (INZ).
“He was offshore at the time and was unable to process his application due to COVID-19 restrictions,” the agency said in a statement. “When Mr. Page entered New Zealand, his application was processed and approved on February 4, 2021.”
According to local media, it was also confirmed earlier this week when news that Page visited the country earlier this year after Page became ill in Fiji and needed treatment at a hospital in Auckland. rice field. thing..
Page, the sixth wealthiest person in the world with reported net worth of $ 115 billion, filed an urgent application in January to evacuate children from South Pacific countries for emergency care.
“The day after receiving the application, a New Zealand air ambulance with a New Zealand ICU nurse escort rescued a family of children and adults from Fiji to New Zealand,” said Health Minister Andrew Little.
Since then, the immigration process for millionaires has sparked debate about special immigration privileges, and some lawmakers why the page’s request was approved so quickly when the border with non-residents was closed. I’m wondering. The CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus, along with other questions, was like a separated family who begged the government to enter but was denied.
“The government is sending a message that money is more important than doctors, fruit pickers, and families away from children,” ACT deputy leader Brooke van Felden said in a statement. rice field.
He responded little to lawmakers that he had adhered to the applicable pandemic protocol when his family arrived, saying his residence was approved about three weeks after his arrival.
New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern told reporters that the decision was made by clinical staff rather than politicians after being asked about the page entry, adding that she was not briefed on the stay of the millionaire.
“So I’m not informed about every individual … because politicians don’t make that decision, and they shouldn’t,” she said. “As in all cases, these are clinician decisions, and I absolutely trust that clinicians make decisions between host countries on what is best for their patients. “
INZ responded to the controversy that wealthy people were granted special access to the country, saying that millionaires became residents but did not have permanent residency and were subject to certain restrictions. Stated.
At the time of this publication, the New Zealand border remains closed to most travelers due to a pandemic of the CCP virus.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
From NTD News
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