Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has signed an agreement with Britain’s Prime Minister to allow more Kiwis to travel and work in the UK.
Ardern is in London – the last stop on her tour of Europe – where she plans to meet Prince William after her appointment with Boris Johnson at Downing St 10.
The meeting gave the leaders a chance to formalize an extension of the Youth Mobility Scheme, as well as to discuss the UK-NZ Free Trade Agreement and the war in Ukraine.
By 2024, the age limit for people to be eligible for the scheme will increase from 30 to 35 years old. The visa length will also range from two to three years.
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The scheme currently allows New Zealanders between the ages of 18 and 30 to live and work in the UK for 2 years.
On the other hand, it allows British people of the same age to work in New Zealand for a year.
In a joint statement, the prime ministers said the new Youth Mobility Scheme would be in place by at least 2024 – but that could be changed sooner. The annual quota for Kiwis going to the UK is 13,000 people a year, with 15,000 British citizens applying for one of the visas to New Zealand.
GLENN MCCONNELL / Stuff
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern meets with British Prime Minister Boris Johnson at Downing St 10 in London, UK.
Ardern meets Johnson at Downing St
Ardern met the British prime minister outside his official 10 Downing St residence, where the British press questioned Johnson’s leadership. He faces pressure to evict his former deputy chief whip, who is facing allegations of “suitcase”.
Inside, Johnson thanked Ardern. The two leaders met earlier this week, at the NATO summit in Madrid where they attended a leadership dinner hosted by the King of Spain and the summit.
“A word of thanks and praise to New Zealand for the very strong stance you are taking against Ukraine, and we have heard a lot of it from you at NATO,” she said.
What is the Prime Minister doing in Europe?
Her stop in London lowers the pace somewhat from a rushed 22 hours in Brussels, Belgium, where New Zealand and the EU have reached an agreement on a free trade agreement.
Ardern appeared on morning television in the UK, where she was asked about how family-friendly the parliament of New Zealand is.
Just a few days before Ardern arrived in London, the British Parliament officially banned babies from entering Westminster.
GLENN MCCONNELL / Stuff
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson met at Downing St 10 to confirm changes to the Youth Mobility Scheme.
In contrast, British TV show Lorraine showed photos of speaker Trevor Mallard holding babies in parliament’s debate room while Ardern spoke about how important she sees it as parliament being open to families and babies.
She said the playground, and welcome approach to babies even in the debate hall, enhanced the debate and ideas of New Zealand’s parliamentarians – just by having the very young people nearby.
International interest in Ardern remains high.
She traveled overnight on the Eurostar to reach London and met many international fans – many in disbelief that the Prime Minister of New Zealand was simply wandering around the train carriages.
Her journey began in Madrid to attend the NATO summit.