Thousands of migrants attempting to gain a new fast-tracked residency visa were left frustrated after the Government application website crashed the moment it opened.

The one-off simplified residency pathway through the Government's "2021 resident visa" is available to migrants who have lived in New Zealand for the last three years or who work in skilled or scarce jobs, and were in the country on September 29.

As many as 15,000 migrants will be able to apply.

But the website crashed as soon as it opened on Wednesday morning.

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