Prime Minister Helen Clark has announced that the UK's Ancestry Visa program is to remain. Clark said the decision "...reflects the huge goodwill towards New Zealand in Britain". It also reflects the economic reality that New Zealanders like to earn British pounds before traveling across Europe.

While this is good news for those of us who're planning on going to the UK for a long period of time, the fact that the British government even considered getting rid of the visas shows a sea-change in attitudes in the "mother country". With the Euro-zone still expanding, and thus the number of migrants seeking to live and work in the UK, the pressure will remain for Britain to tighten its immigration rules still further.