The government today announced sweeping changes to work visa rules that impact employers and migrant workers in low skilled jobs. Changes include how long a migrant worker can spend working in New Zealand, minimum English language standard, a work experience and qualification requirement and a higher threshold for employers to show that they have tried to fill vacancies with New Zealanders.
From 7 April 2024 occupations for work visas will be closely assessed against a classification of occupations called "ANZSCO" (Australian New Zealand Standard Classification of Occupations). ANZSCO 1, 2 and 3 occupations are normally management, professional, technical or trade roles (such as doctors, chief executives or carpenters). ANZSCO 4 and 5 occupations are usually Community or Personal Service workers or Clerical and/or Administrative workers (examples are secretaries, cleaners or labourers).
ANZSCO 1, 2 and 3 occupations are largely unaffected by todays announcement. However, ANZSCO occupations 4 and 5 are significantly affected by these changes.
Maximum time working in NZ
A migrant worker can spend up to 5 years working in New Zealand provided they work in an ANZSCO 1, 2 or 3 occupation, or work in an occupation on the Green List, or are included in the Transport Sector Work to Residence list, or are paid at or above 1.5 times the median wage (currently $47.71 an hour).
A migrant worker in an ANZSCO 4 or 5 occupation may also spend up to 5 years working in New Zealand provided they applied for their first Accredited Employer Work Visa (AEWV) between 21 June 2023 and 6 April 2024 and were paid at or above the median wage of $29.66 an hour.
A migrant worker in an ANZSCO 4 or 5 occupation who applied for an AEWV on or before 20 June 2023 can now only stay working in NZ for a maximum of 3 years.
There have been over 113,000 AEWVs issued to date. Many migrant workers will have to leave NZ from 2025 onwards when AEWVs first issued in 2022 onwards start to expire.
English language requirement
From 7 April 2024 people applying for AEWVs to work in ANZSCO 4 or 5 occupations must prove they meet an English language standard. In some cases this will be easy and for others passing an English test may be required.
Citizens of Canada, the Republic of Ireland, the UK or USA who have worked or studied for 5 years or more in one of these 4 countries (or Australia or New Zealand) will not need to sit an English test. Likewise a qualification at Level 7 (requiring 2 or more years of study) or a Level 8 qualification (requiring 1 year or more of study) completed in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the Republic of Ireland, the UK or USA will avoid an English test.
For everyone else they will need to sit and pass an English test. There are several tests that are acceptable for an AEWV but the most commonly one known is IELTS with an overall score of 4 or more to reach the standard of English required.
Work experience and qualification requirement
From 7 April 2024 all AEWV applicants will need to prove they are suitably qualified or experienced to do the job they have been offered in NZ. This includes either three years relevant work experience or a relevant qualification assessed as comparable to a Level 4 or higher NZ qualification. There are some exceptions for occupations on the Green List or when a job is paid at twice the median wage.
New set of requirements for employers
From 7 April 2024 employers must lodge vacancies with Work and Income for ANZSCO 4 and 5 jobs plus advertise the job nationally. They will need to satisfy Immigration NZ (INZ) they could not find kiwis to fill the vacancy.
Employers will need to take reasonable steps to ensure migrant workers are suitably qualified and experienced to do the job offered.
Accredited Employers will need to notify INZ within 10 working days when a migrant worker holding an AEWV leaves their employment.
From 14 April 2024 there are a new set of penalties for employers including instant fines ($1,000 or more), suspension of recruiting more migrant workers, suspension or cancelation of accreditation if they breach any of the accredited employer rules. Breaches include not notifying INZ when an AEWV holder leaves their employment, employing a person who has no work rights or are an overstayer.
Franchise accreditation will be disestablished in late 2024. Employers who hold franchise accreditation can then apply for standard, or high volume or triangular accreditation.
Certain occupations will not be included in the Construction and Infrastructure Sector Agreement
The decision by the former government to include 7 new roles into this agreement will not progress. This means work visas can not be secured for people wanting to work in these roles when the pay rate is below the median wage. Affected occupations are:
Anyone in your team who has already applied for an AEWV or AEWV extension
Applications already lodged with INZ and under process are not affected by these changes.
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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 can be found here