From 1 July the NZ/UK Working Holiday Visa (WHV) is extended to three years (up from twenty-three months but had only allowed twelve months of actual working time in NZ).
This change will facilitate young Brits spending a full three years working in NZ with open work rights (not tied to any employer or job). The age limit increases from 30 to 35, so the pool of people who can qualify grows substantially. Anyone already in NZ (estimated at over 4,000) holding a WHV will be able to extend their visa for another twelve months once the changes roll out.
NZ has an annual cap of 15,000 visas under this scheme. This is higher than the number of visas issued in any one year under this scheme.
The UK also opens their WHV scheme on 29 June. The deal is just the same for young kiwis wanting to work in the UK. An open work visa with three-year work rights and no cap on the number of visas issued. This may lead to more local talent moving offshore as recent graduates with a few years of work experience under their belt are showing strong interest in this visa.
A Recovery Visa was introduced to facilitate the quick entry of specialist migrant workers to help with the recovery and response to major weather events. This visa will allow employers to fast-track the entry of engineers, technicians, insurance assessors etc needed on the ground right now. Applications should be processed within seven days, and the $700 government application fee is refundable if the visa is approved.
The Recovery Visa is restricted to just six months. Anyone required for longer will need to convert the Recovery Visa into an Accredited Employer Work Visa (AEWV) unless the government rolls out an extension as they did from time to time when the border was closed. Officials are looking at alternatives to fast-track these essential workers through the AEWV online application process, but it may take some time to organise.
There are calls for more visas to attract talent to NZ. There are 52 countries with a digital nomad visa, others have rolled out a two-year open work visa for graduates from top universities and other new talent visas pop up on a regular basis. We have a broken Entrepreneur visa in desperate need of an overall. This visa could be attracting talent and capital right now to help grow kiwi businesses and save jobs. A conversation left for another day might just be too late to win the battle for global talent!
Reminder to employers to keep close tabs on the expiry date of job checks. The job check is when Immigration NZ have been satisfied there are no New Zealanders available to fill a role(s) and grants permission to the employer to fill the role with a migrant worker. The job check is valid for six months from date of approval. It must still be valid when the migrant worker applies for their work visa. If the job check expires then a new job check needs to be lodged and approved if there are still roles to fill with migrant workers. An Accredited Employer Work Visa application can't be lodged without a valid job check.
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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