Google Founder Gets New Zealand Residency As Critics Fume

Google co-founder Larry Page has gained New Zealand residency, officials confirmed, stoking debate over whether extremely wealthy people can essentially buy access to the South Pacific country, Nick Perry reported for the Associated Press (AP).

Photo Insert: Google co-founder Larry Page

Immigration New Zealand said Page first applied for residency in November under a special visa open to people with at least 10 million New Zealand dollars ($7 million) to invest.

“As he was offshore at the time, his application was not able to be processed because of COVID-19 restrictions,” the agency said in a statement.

“Once Mr. Page entered New Zealand, his application was able to be processed and it was approved on 4 February 2021.”

Gaining New Zealand residency would not necessarily affect Page’s residency status in the US or any other nation. New Zealand lawmakers confirmed that Page and his son first arrived in New Zealand in January after the family filed an urgent application for the son to be evacuated from Fiji due to a medical emergency.

Opposition lawmakers said the episode raised questions about why Page was approved so quickly at a time when many skilled workers or separated family members who were desperate to enter New Zealand were being turned away.

“The government is sending a message that money is more important than doctors, fruit pickers, and families who are separated from their children,” ACT deputy leader Brooke van Velden said in a statement.

In 2017, it emerged that Silicon Valley billionaire Peter Thiel was able to gain New Zealand citizenship six years earlier, despite never having lived in the country.

Thiel was approved after a top lawmaker decided his entrepreneurial skills and philanthropy were valuable to the nation.

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