Will the Immigration rebalance affect you?

The government’s recent “Immigration rebalance” announcement set out future changes to work and residence visa pathways. Notably, absent was any word on the Skilled Migrant Category (points system) or the Investor Categories. We were told an announcement on these categories will be made “in coming months”. Read this as a clear signal for change. The Partnership category is heading for review. The Parent category reopening looks to be on the agenda in 2023.

Work visas

Applications open for the new Accredited Employer Work Visa (AEWV NZ) on Monday, 4 July 2022. Anyone applying for an AEWV will need to hold a job offer from an employer that has been “accredited” by Immigration NZ and the job has been cleared through a “job check” (which means there are no kiwis available to fill the role and the job is compliant with employment law).

Applicants must be paid at or above the median wage of $27.76 per hour (before tax and any lawful wage deductions), hold qualifications and experience to carry out the job and pass character and health checks.

In December 2022 partners of migrant workers will no longer automatically receive work rights. Instead, most partners will be issued a visitor visa. If a partner wants to work in the future they will need to qualify for their own AEWV but will be allowed to work less than the normal minimum of 30 hours a week if they need to care for children.

Chefs wanting to work in New Zealand will soon need formal qualifications to secure a work visa. Any overseas chef/cooking qualifications will need to be assessed to establish if they are at Level 4 or above on the NZ Qualification framework (including at the level of the NZ Certificate in Cookery, Level 4). It just got much tougher for restaurants and hotels to recruit overseas chefs!

There will be a transition to the median wage requirement for certain occupations in a limited number of sectors. For a period of time jobs paying $25 per hour will qualify for two-year work visas. After two years if the worker is not being paid at the median wage or above they will have to leave NZ. The sectors included in this transition are Tourism, Hospitality (but not chefs), Construction and Infrastructure. Not every job in these sectors will qualify so take advice before applying.

Residence pathways

A limited number of opportunities to apply for residence are scheduled to open in September 2022.

People with highly skilled job offers can apply if their occupation is on the “Green List” or they are paid double the median wage ($55.52 per hour or a salary of $115,482 per annum).

What is the Green List ? This list replaces the three skill shortage lists (Long Term, Regional Skill and Construction/Infrastructure) that have been in existence for many years. Occupations on the Green List do not have to be advertised by employers to satisfy the labour market test and may open an immediate pathway to apply for residence or after working in New Zealand for two years. Occupations on the Green List are available to review now. This list will be reviewed in 12 months then every 3 years.

Warning: All occupations on the Green List have a requirement that overseas qualifications are equivalent to NZ qualifications and/or require NZ occupational registration. In some cases, a minimum income requirement applies. Character and health checks will apply to everyone included in the residence application.

The median wage and occupations on the Green List will change from time to time.

Applying for work visas or residence is never straightforward. We recommend you speak with a licensed immigration adviser in Auckland to assess your eligibility to apply.