Immigration Archives - Page 10 of 24

Longer Essential Skills visas, easier process for renewals

12/08/202116/07/2021

The Government has brought positive news for onshore migrants and New Zealand employers which will impact Essential Skills work visa applications from 19 July 2021. This is a temporary measure to alleviate skills shortages. This announcement is meant to ease employers’ concerns about labour shortages INZ website NZ Herald Maximum duration of Essential Skills work visas From 19 July 2021, the Government is extending the maximum duration of an Essential Skills work Visa for a job paid below the median …

New Zealand Immigration Employer Seminar

03/08/202125/06/2021

New Zealand Shores on a foggy Tuesday morning at Zealong Tea Estate in Gordonton, held an informative conference for employers from the Waikato region, with some businesses travelling from further afar. Guest speakers of the morning were New Zealand Shores Licensed Immigration Advisers, Immigration New Zealand Relationship Managers, Federated Farmers spokesman, our HR partner Everest and the Waikato Chamber of Commerce. We also had some guests in our audience, that of Jamie Strange, current Hamilton East MP for Labour & …

New Accredited Employer Work visa

14/03/202325/06/2021

As you will be aware with all the recent Immigration announcements, change is coming within the temporary work visa space. This could potentially affect your business if you are a NZ employer, or your staff on temporary work visas. 6 current work visa streams will be replaced with the new Accredited Employer Work Visa (AEWV), this replaces Essential skills, Approval in principle, Talent: Accredited employer, long term skill shortage, silver fern work visas. The new visa will take effect on …

New median wage used as threshold for Select visa categories

03/08/202115/06/2021

.The remuneration thresholds used by Immigration New Zealand are being revised Thresholds increase on 19 July 2021 The Essential Skills work visa and Skilled Migrant Category resident visa are the visa categories that are being impacted. These thresholds are based on the NZ median salary and wage, and are therefore updated every year. The new thresholds were set in 2020 but their implementation by INZ has been delayed to allow employers more flexibility to retain their key migrant staff. Thresholds …

Extension for Working Holiday visas and Supplementary Seasonal Employment visas

03/08/202111/06/2021

Update 11 June 2021 Are you currently in New Zealand on Working Holiday visa or a Seasonal Supplementary Employment (SSE) visa? You may qualify for an automated 6 months extension. This extension is automatic and there is no fee. More information (INZ website) Which visas are being automatically extended? Working Holiday visas Onshore Working Holiday visa holders whose visa expire between 21 June and 31 December 2021 will be extended for 6 months. Working Holiday visa holders may work in …

Further easing of border restrictions

03/08/202111/05/2021

We have had some positive news from the New Zealand government in response to the need for certain sectors of the economy to source skilled and critical workers from overseas. News (NZ Herald) More information (Beehive) The creation of a “Trans-Tasman” bubble means a quarantine-free travel area between Australia and New Zealand. As an estimated 40% of isolation spaces were occupied by travellers from Australia, the bubble has freed up availability for other travellers to come to New Zealand. This …

Update on Changes to Accreditation and Work visa categories

03/08/202107/05/2021

Immigration New Zealand hosted a webinar for the Immigration industry. This event provided valuable information on the upcoming accreditation and work visa changes. Let’s look at the implementation timelines and what this means for your existing staff Background: what is changing Since 2019, the Government has been working on a new temporary work visa called the Accredited Employer Work Visa (AEWV). This also prompts a new employer-led system whereby all employers willing to support a migrant’s work visa accreditation will …

Travel Restrictions from very high risk countries

03/08/202129/04/2021

From 28th April 2021, only New Zealand citizens and their immediate family member can travel to New Zealand from Brazil, India, Pakistan and Papua New Guinea. More information (INZ website) These 4 countries have been designated as being ‘very high risk’ and arrival from these countries is being severely restricted as a result. If you are not a New Zealand citizen or immediate family travelling with them, you can enter New Zealand only if you have spent 14 days outside …

Immigration New Zealand to refund Residence application fees over informal Prioritisation Criteria

03/08/202129/04/2021

INZ have decided to refund applicants with a Skilled Migrant or Residence from Work application in process should they no longer wish to obtain NZ residence. This resulted from an investigation into complaints that INZ were lacking in transparency over the implementation of prioritisation of certain applications over others. If you wish to withdraw your residence application you are now able to request a refund of the INZ application fee… More information (INZ website) News article (NZ Herald) Who …

Border Restrictions eased to allow hundreds of families to be reunited

03/08/202119/04/2021

Update 19 April 2021 From 30th April 2021, hundreds of families will be able to reunite as border exemptions are widened to include offshore family members. This news will come as a relief for certain families who have been separated for over 1 year More information (INZ website) News article (NZ Herald) A welcome announcement Immigration Minister Kris Faafoi announced new border exemptions to allow hundreds of families to be reunited under new “Critical Purpose” criteria. Since New Zealand borders …