Cnet reported that his decision to move to New Zealand had caused some consternation among other Google staff as they felt he was given special treatment to work remotely.
It said Hölzle had told staff that, dependent on quarantine restrictions, he still expected to visit the Bay Area of San Francisco on a regular basis.
NZTE spokesman Andrew Holden said it had supported Hölzle’s application for a visa but said it would not comment on why it had done so, due to privacy reasons.
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Urs Hölzle.
Immigration NZ’s general manager of visa operations, Nicola Hogg, said Hölzle “met the border exception criteria to be granted a visa under the Covid-19 Support instructions”.