Immigration Minister Kris Faafoi family members will be able join migrants already in NZ who meet the criteria for the 2021 Resident Visa.
The government has confirmed it's setting up the one-off resident visa that could capture about 165,000 people.
Faafoi told Morning Report it was necessary.
"It's a significant decision to make 165,000 people eligible for residency. But, given the challenges that Covid has put in front of us and the challenges that businesses face, we think this is the right thing to do."
Faafoi said modelling how many family members could come in to rejoin migrants in NZ eligible for the visa is difficult.
"They [family members] may not have been part of applications that Immigration New Zealand has seen in the past.
"The rough estimate, and you can only tell when the applications come in, it will be somewhere in the several thousands that might want to bring their dependent children and partners in. Time will tell."
He said most of the applications will be processed within twelve months of opening and it's hoped families will start flowing through from next year.
It would be difficult to get in due to MIQ capacity trouble, but the new visa does give migrants a path forward."
