While New Zealand is living under lockdown Malcolm Pacific Immigration are still providing immigration advice and lodging visa applications for our clients.
Immigration NZ (INZ) processing offices in New Zealand and overseas remain closed. This means most visa applications are not being processed until INZ staff can return to work. Visas for essential workers (such as health workers) and border closure exemptions are the only applications being processed by INZ right now.
With the end of lockdown, we expect visa application processing to restart for all categories but there will delays for some time to come.
The government has suspended selections of Expressions of Interest out of the pool for the Skilled Migrant and Parent Visa categories. The Pacific Access and Samoan Quotas along with some working holiday schemes have been placed on hold. This is a temporary measure and we expect this to change sometime post lockdown.
However, Expressions of Interest under the Skilled Migrant and Parent categories can still be lodged during lockdown. Contact the team at Malcolm Pacific Immigration if you want to move forward with an application for yourself or a member of your family.
Immigration NZ (INZ) offices remain closed during lockdown. INZ is only processing visa applications associated with the small list of exemptions from the border closure.
However, many temporary visa applications are lodged online. Malcolm Pacific Immigration are right now lodging plenty of these applications for our clients.
Several visa applications are only paper based and need to be lodged manually. These include Skilled Migrant, Residence from Work, Permanent Resident Visa, Variation of travel or work conditions etc. Malcolm Pacific Immigration are also lodging these applications.
Processing of any applications will not resume until INZ reopen. However, by acting now our clients are getting as close to the front of the queue as possible. No doubt there will be very long delays as INZ play catch up on the vast number of applications received during the lock down.
Anyone in New Zealand whose visa expired on or before 1 April 2020 need to quickly take immigration advice on how they may regularize their immigration status. Remaining unlawfully in New Zealand for more than 42 days limits all appeal rights against deportation and other options are very limited unless there are confirmed plans to depart New Zealand.
Anyone in New Zealand on 2 April 2020; whose temporary visa (plus those of immediate family) was due to expire between 2 April 2020 and 9 July 2020 should by now have received via email a new visa valid to 25 September 2020. INZ sent these new visas to around 85,000 people. There was technical hitch so if you don't have your visa give it another week after that contact INZ direct or the team at Malcolm Pacific Immigration.
The government has given limited flexibility to workers at major supermarket chains. Work visa holders already employed in supermarkets can work in additional roles beyond those set out on their work visa and international students can work more than 20 hours. This dispensation is set to end on 25 April 2020.
The Healthcare sector has limited flexibility to keep lower skilled healthcare workers beyond the three year maximum period a work visa holder can remain in New Zealand. International students can work more than 20 hours a week until 3 July 2020.
Normal employment law applies to all these situations.
Our teams are working remotely, and phones are answered 24/7. Call us anytime on 0800 800 612 to get in touch.
Whether in New Zealand or overseas Kia kaha (stay strong); stay safe and be kind to one another. We will get through this together.
Our highly experienced licensed Immigration team will take away the stress and worry of navigating the complicated world of New Zealand Immigration. All you need to do is get in touch. Our team is on standby, ready to help.
Our highly experienced licensed Immigration team will take away the stress and worry of navigating the complicated world of New Zealand Immigration. All you need to do is get in touch. Our employer team is on standby, ready to help.
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Today the government announced a pathway to residence for migrant workers who are living and working in New Zealand. Applications open on 1 December 2021 for the first wave who are eligible to apply. The second wave can apply from 1 March 2022. The deadline to lodge an application is 31 July 2022 or else they will miss out on this one off opportunity.
Today the government announced a pathway to residence for people living and working in New Zealand. Applications open on 1 December 2021 for the first wave eligible to apply. The second wave can apply from 1 March 2022. The deadline to lodge an application is 31 July 2022 or else you miss the boat.
The government has moved the introduction of the new employer accreditation process across to mid-2022. At the same time, the Minister of Immigration announced new work visa rules for migrant workers who are already in New Zealand and working full time.
The government has increased the median wage to $27 per hour from 19 July. Any Skilled Migrant residence application lodged after this date will need to include a skilled job offer that pays at least $27 per hour. For some lower-skilled occupations, the minimum pay rate increases to $40.50 per hour.
From 19 July 2021
From 30 June 2021
Employers of migrant workers must become accredited from 1 November 2021 before work visa applications can be processed. Most employers are not accredited. Those that are accredited will have to roll into the new system when it goes live in late September.
From mid-2020 (delayed)
Skilled occupation "Dairy Cattle Farmer" spilt into three occupations. New occupations are: "Dairy Farm Manager", "Assistant Dairy Farm Manager" and "Dairy Herd Manager". Each sit at different skill levels, therefore, the award of points will depend on pay rates, job tasks and other requirements.
From 15 February 2021
The government has deferred the fortnightly selection of Expressions of Interest from the Skilled Migrant pool for six months (to be reviewed in April 2021). Invitations to Apply for Residence remain suspended. The last selection from the Skilled Migrant pool took place on 18/03/2020.
From 7 October 2020
The government added four new occupations that are now regarded as skilled employment and may qualify for job offer points under the Skilled Migrant Category. These are:
Aged or disabled carer, Bicycle mechanic, Driller and Nursing Support worker.
From 27 July 2020
Anyone invited by Immigration NZ to apply for residence under the Skilled Migrant Category where their invitation is dated between 1 November 2019 and 15 April 2020 (inclusive) has now been granted an additional six months to lodge their residence application.
From 27 May 2020
The government has deferred the fortnightly selection of Expressions of Interest from the Skilled Migrant pool. This means Invitations to Apply for Residence are also suspended. Malcolm Pacific Immigration does not anticipate selections to resume until after the general election held on 17 October 2020.
Immigration NZ is now prioritising Skilled Migrant Residence applications where the main (principal) applicant meets the criteria:
From 24 February 2020
From 7 October 2019
The government recently added more occupations that are now to be regarded as skilled employment and may qualify for job offer points under the Skilled Migrant Category. In order to qualify for points, the job must be paying at least the current median wage (or higher for certain occupations) at the time the residence application is lodged.
From 1 November 2021
From 1 November 2021 anyone who is not a NZ citizen must be fully vaccinated (unless exempt) before travelling to New Zealand. Fully vaccinated means your last dose of vaccine was given at least 14 days before travelling and it was an approved vaccine.
Applications for employer accreditation closed at the end of June 2021. Applications lodged before the closure date are still being processed. New applications for accreditation open on 9 May 2022. The process will be quite different to what employers have experienced in the past. Businesses will need to meet minimum standards.
Wednesday, 1 December is fast approaching and it is estimated that around 16,000 individuals and families can apply in the first wave for the 2021 Resident Visa opening next month. It is exciting for the thousands of people who have been waiting patiently to become residents that finally the finish line is in sight.
The first wave of applicants can apply from 1 December 2021. Around 16,000 applications are expected in this first wave. The second wave opens on 1 March 2022. In total, the government expects approximately 110,000 applications that will include about 165,000 people.
The second group of workers who can apply online for the 2021 Resident Visa that opens on 1 March 2022 are those who hold an eligible work visa and either meet "Settled", "Skilled" or "Scarce" as set out above. In total Immigration NZ estimate around 110,000 people will qualify to apply for this visa.
The first group of workers who can apply online for the 2021 Resident Visa that opens on 1 December 2021 are those that on 29/09/2021:
Is this the only requirement to qualify for residence? No. In addition to the eligible work visa criteria workers also need to be regarded as one of the following:
People who were lawfully in NZ (or in Australia when the travel bubble closed between April and July 2021) on 29/09/2021 need to meet the visa eligibility criteria:
The government has introduced a limited pathway to residence for people who are already living and working in New Zealand. Applications open on 1 December 2021 for the first wave of people eligible to apply. The second wave opens on 1 March 2022. The deadline to apply for the 2021 Resident Visa is 31 July 2022.
A small number of critical health workers (taking up jobs for six months or longer) or specialist workers (taking up jobs that are for longer than six months) who were granted border exemptions may also have eligibility for the 2021 Resident Visa. They will need to have arrived in NZ and lodge a 2021 Resident Visa application.
*Excludes high-risk countries.
*Excludes high-risk countries.
The work visa categories set to close are:
In order to address labour shortages in New Zealand's crucial industries the NZ government has implemented a "Green List" of sought-after high-skill occupations. This list offers a prioritised pathway to residency.
There are qualification and/or occupational registration requirements to meet. Occupations are broken down into two tiers:
The recent additions in May 2023 across many sectors on the Green List NZ can be found here