The one-off residence pathway scheme had been offered to roughly 165,000 migrant workers and their families who were stranded in New Zealand due to the pandemic.
British-born applicant Topaz Dominique has lived in Wanaka for eight years and said the new visa guidelines felt like a "miracle" because before that there were not many pathways to residency.
"It’s taken a very long time, and life through those years has felt very stagnant," she said.
She arrived in New Zealand in September 2014 on a two-year working holiday visa, which transitioned into a sponsored working visa.
Ms Dominique said being dependent on sponsorship was difficult due to restrictions.
"It’s just waiting for your freedom really, and living in a country that feels like home, but not having the freedoms like everyone else who lives here and grew up here, is difficult."
The restrictions did influence job scope and choices.
"Sponsorship is the way of staying in the country, but you have to work for an employer who is willing to sponsor you and it’s the only way you can get a work visa.
"You take jobs that you never would take in England. I have a degree in media and marketing, but my easiest bet was to apply for jobs that Kiwis don’t want," she said.
Ms Dominique believed Covid-19 had made government and business owners better appreciate immigrants’ contributions.
"They have realised just how desperately they needed immigrants. I think this is why they did give out the one-off residency visa, because they realised to help the economy they needed to keep people here," she said.
Applications for those seeking the 2021 resident visa opened in December 2021.
By the end of this year, the country is expected to have more new residents than any previous year. As of June 6 2022, more than 99,300 applications for the 2021 resident visa were received by Immigration New Zealand.
Of these, 23,800 applications (52,900 people) had been approved for residency.
The eligibility criteria extends to those have lived here longer than the past three years, earning the median wage of $27 an hour or who worked in a skill-shortage role.
Fast-track visa residency applications close on July 31, 2022. The cost each is $2160.
