Almost 9000 Fijians have applied for only 250 ballot places to give them a shot at gaining residence in New Zealand.
Radio New Zealand reports that it is the first time Fijians have been allowed to apply for a spot in the Pacific Access Category ballot since the events of December 2006.
Immigration New Zealand has apologised for a technical error that meant applicants in Fiji had to wait a week to find out whether they had won places in the ballot.
But many had already been waiting for almost a decade to apply after sanctions were introduced against Fiji.
The high number of applicants means each had less than a three percent chance of winning a place in the electronic draw.
Immigration consultants say many of those applicants who got a spot then failed to meet job, language and health requirements to apply for residence.
Consultant Atesh Narayan said that means many of the sought‑after ballot places were wasted.
He says if a person does not get a job offer within an eight‑month period, then he just misses his place and those people who missed out will have to pay $30 and do it again next year.
Fijians pay more than $70 fees to enter the ballot.
Source: Radio New Zealand
