Cook Islands Immigration is undertaking a process ahead of the Minister inviting expressions‑of‑interest to apply for Cook Islands permanent residence to identify individuals who may fall under section 51 of the Cook Islands Immigration Act 2021 and may be subject to revocation of their permanent residence status.
In accordance with regulation 34 of the Cook Islands Immigration Regulations 2023, the Principal Immigration Officer must either:
- Contact the individual directly and invite them to provide information demonstrating why their permanent residence should not be revoked under section 51; or
- If direct contact is not reasonably possible, publish a notice naming the individual and inviting them to supply the required information.
Notices issued under regulation 34 must be published at least three times in a newspaper circulating in the Cook Islands within 20 working days, and through at least one additional publicly accessible method, such as an official government website.
Individuals who have been contacted directly have already been notified. All others are listed in a notice published today on the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Immigration website and Facebook page, and in the Thursday print edition of the Cook Islands News.
Those named in the notice should contact the Principal Immigration Officer at [email protected] for further information.
Expressions of interest may be submitted under two categories: in own right and as the spouse of a Cook Islander or Cook Islands permanent resident. The “in own right” category is capped at 500 places. Before the Minister can invite expressions of interest, the section 51 process must be completed to determine the number of available spaces. The spouse category has no limit.