Government unveils new work visa rules

In September 2019, Minister Iain Lees-Galloway announced changes to temporary work visas.

Up to 30,000 businesses across the country will benefit from new changes to the Government's temporary work visa process programme, Immigration Minister Iain Lees-Galloway says.

Changes, which will start coming into effect in 2020, include reinstating the ability for lower-paid workers to bring their families to New Zealand and the introduction of a new employer-led visa framework which will make the application process easier.

It also increases the expectation on employers to employ and train more New Zealanders and will reduce the exploitation of temporary foreign workers.

Lees-Galloway said the changes would assist between 25,000-30,000 businesses to fill shortages.

"The new visa system will require all employers to be accredited and will give employers more certainty about their ability to hire a foreign worker earlier in the application process.

"It will also provide the foreign worker with more assurance about the employer they are coming to work for and the job they are coming to do."

The new rules follow almost 1000 submissions on the proposed changes to employer-assisted temporary work visa settings, earlier this year.

The changes mean there will only be one type of employer-assisted temporary work visa, the Temporary Work Visa, which foreign workers can apply for.

It replaces the six work visa categories currently in place, including the Long Term Skills Shortage visa, and the Talent Work to Residence visa.

The new visa system will be more streamlined.  It will require all employers to be accredited and will give employers more certainty about their ability to hire a foreign worker earlier in the application process.

Lees-Galloway said this would help regional businesses find workers, while also ensuring that New Zealanders receive training to fill gaps in the labour market.

"It will also provide the foreign worker with more assurance about the employer they are coming to work for and the job they are coming to do."

What are the changes?

• Replacing six current employer-assisted work visa categories with one new visa called the Temporary Work Visa
• Introducing a new employer-led visa application process that will involve three stages: the employer check; the job check; and the worker check
• Linking visa conditions directly to pay by replacing existing skill bands with a simple remuneration threshold aligned to the median wage
• For higher-paid jobs, replacing the current set of skills shortage lists with lists for cities and open access for regions
• Strengthening the labour market test for lower-paid jobs and removing it altogether for highly-paid jobs in rural regions
• Increasing the remuneration threshold for the Work to Residence – Talent (Accredited Employer) visa category, as a transitional measure until this visa is closed
• Reinstating the ability for lower-paid workers to bring their families to New Zealand
• Introducing sector agreements to support facilitated access to foreign workers in exchange for progress towards longer-term labour market improvements that place more New Zealanders into jobs in the sector and reduce the sector's reliance on temporary foreign workers.

Getting more information

New Zealand Immigration has prepared a factsheet that explains in more detail the changes that are planned.

*Credits:

Jason Walls, political reporter for the New Zealand Herald

For more information about this article feel free to contact our Immigration Lawyer, Sonja Hucker (06 768 - 3748).