WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) – It’s one thing to talk about changing allegiance to another country when a new president is elected. It’s another thing to go ahead and do it.
But that’s exactly what seems to be happening, at least in one distant corner of the world.
In New Zealand, the number of Americans who applied for a grant of citizenship rose by 70 percent in the 12 weeks following the election of President Donald Trump when compared to the same period a year earlier, immigration records obtained by The Associated Press show.
Figures also show the number of Americans who obtained a New Zealand work visa in January was up 18 percent from a year earlier, as was the number of Americans who visited the country.
In New Zealand, a grant of citizenship is the pathway for people without a family connection. Among those Americans with a New Zealand parent, citizenship applications after the election were up 11 percent from a year earlier.