Photo: RNZ / Symone Tafuna'i
New Zealand's Minister of Internal Affairs says 847 Samoans have been granted New Zealand citizenship under a new law which came into force in late November.
The law allows a pathway for certain individuals whose New Zealand citizenship was removed under a 1982 Act to apply for it.
Green Party MP Teanau Tuiono submitted the Restoring Citizenship Removed By Citizenship (Western Samoa) Act 1982 Bill.
Tuiono said the impact of the issue became apparent as he was working through the apology for the Dawn Raids.
"There was a couple of things that I thought needed to happen in order for that apology to be more meaningful," he explained.
The first thing was an amnesty for overstayers. The second related to that government decision from 1982.
"Other people were reaching out to me saying hey look, there's also this racist piece of legislation which is still on the books, the Western Samoa Citizenship Act," he said.
"Samoans who were my age were telling me about the impact on their parents and their grandparents.
"So, this is important for our kaumātua generation, our elders, but also for our tamariki and our mokopuna."
Read more:
The Governance and Administration Committee received about 24,500 submissions on it.
Around 200 people packed in to New Zealand's Parliament to witness the final reading and celebrate when it was passed unanimously.
Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden said receiving the grant of New Zealand citizenship provides a number of privileges such as the ability to hold a New Zealand passport.
Concern has been raised that only the select few were eligible under the new law - not their children or grandchildren.
Tuiono had tried to add an amendment to include the descendants of those eligible, but this was not supported.
