While current Essential Skills visas will not be extended, the Minister of Immigration has increased the duration of new Essential Skills visas for those who are paid below the median wage from 6 months to 12 months. This change applies to all visas granted on and after 10 June 2021, even in cases where the application was made while the instructions still specified a six month duration.
From 19 July, Essential Skills visa applications will be assessed using the median hourly wage of NZD$27.00, in line with the 2020 Statistics New Zealand median wage. This has been previously signalled and is an increase from the current rate of $25.50. The stand-down period for Essential Skills visa holders who are paid below the median wage, which would require them to leave New Zealand for 12 months after three years (four years for healthcare workers) before they can apply for another lower-paid Essential Skills visa, will be further postponed until July 2022. It will continue to be a requirement that Essential Skills visa holders are given and paid for at least 30 hours of work per week. Employers will still need to prove they have been genuinely unsuccessful at attracting a New Zealander into the role before offering it to a temporary migrant.
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The Minister of Immigration has extended onshore Working Holiday visas and Supplementary Seasonal Employment (SSE) visas that expire between 21 June and 31 December 2021 for six months. The border and labour market situation will be monitored and these visas may be extended again if necessary. Working Holiday visa holders will continue to be able to work in any employment, except permanent employment. Supplementary Seasonal Employment visa holders will be given open work rights to work in any sector when their visas are extended. Immigration New Zealand will contact visa holders by 25 June 2021 confirming their extension. Request an extension checkIf you think your visa is eligible for an extension that is not showing in your Visa Verification record, click below to check.
Changes have been made to immigration instructions to remove certain hours worked overnight from the remuneration calculation for Essential Skills and Skilled Migrant Category visa applications.
If you think you meet our criteria to travel to New Zealand you must first submit an expression of interest using our online request form. If you are coming here as an 'other critical worker' then your employer or other supporting agency must do this for you using the Employer request for critical worker exception. If we agree you have a critical purpose, we will invite you to apply for either:
Once you submit your request, INZ aims to respond to requests within 5 working days. However, it may take longer depending on the volume and complexity of requests. Requests from employers and agents for approval in principle to bring other critical workers to New Zealand generally take 2 weeks. If we agree you have a critical purpose to travel, we will send you a link to the form you need to use to apply for a visa or variation of conditions. You may need to pay a fee. Most applicants are charged a fee to apply for a Critical Purpose Visitor Visa or Critical Purpose Variation of Conditions. The fee you have to pay may change depending on your country of citizenship and where you are now. The fee for a Critical Purpose Variation of Conditions is NZD $190. Forms for border exceptions. If you have been invited to apply for a Critical Purpose Visitor Visa, submit your application using the online form. The form will ask you what type of visitor visa you are applying for. Select Special Category Visitor Visa, then Critical Purpose Visitor Visa.
Amendments have been made to the general instructions as to the order and manner of processing of visa applications.
Applicants who are in and have lodged applications from within New Zealand or a Quarantine-Free Travel (QFT) Zone are given first priority. This includes residence class as well as temporary entry class visas. Applications from a QFT Zone are given first priority as a reflection of the applicants’ ability to travel to New Zealand while being exempt from border restrictions.
​Please find Amendment Circular 2021-12 attached. This circular contains immigration instructions that form part of Immigration New Zealand’s response to COVID-19.
Changes have been made to immigration instructions for a new border exception designed to reunite partners and dependent children with temporary visa holders working in New Zealand. Other changes have been made to add Innovative Partnerships and the NZTE Investment Attraction to the list of major government-approved programmes for the ‘other critical workers’ border exception, and to renew the class exception for individuals travelling to or from the five Pacific ‘gateway’ countries or territories. These instructions are effective on and after 30 April 2021.
Announced by INZ, 27th April 2021.
​Changes have been made to immigration instructions to clarify Chest X-Ray requirements for RSE limited visa applicants. These instructions are effective on and after 26 April 2021. On 19 April 2021, New Zealand opened quarantine-free travel with Australia. This means that people can travel from Australia to New Zealand without having to secure a place in MIQ. Travellers from a QFT zone must meet New Zealand immigration requirements:
On 30 April 2021, the New Zealand Government is introducing an exception to the border restrictions for the families of some temporary visa holders in New Zealand. This border exception is for the following three groups:
To be eligible for the new border exception, the person currently in New Zealand must have 12 months or more remaining on their visa. The requirements vary for each group. Partners and dependent children of temporary visa holders. Partners and dependent children of temporary visa holders who are currently outside New Zealand may be eligible to travel to New Zealand under this border exception category, which will come into effect on 30 April 2021. The border exception is for these three groups:
To be eligible to enter New Zealand, partners or dependent children outside of New Zealand must hold a current visa based on their relationship to the person in New Zealand. The partner or parent must be currently in New Zealand and have 12 months or more remaining on their work or student visa when the request to travel is submitted. Partners and dependent children of workers employed in critical health services. To be eligible, you must:
Your visa application must include, evidence of your relationship with the primary visa holder. Evidence can include, but is not limited to:
Partners and dependent children of highly-skilled workers. To be eligible to enter New Zealand, you must:
If your request is successful, you will be invited to apply for a visa. Your visa application must provide evidence of your relationship with your partner or parent who is in New Zealand. This evidence can include, but is not limited to:
The purpose of this item is to ensure the instructions are applied consistently in both temporary and residence processing. Immigration officers should include rates of pay for any sleepover hours in their remuneration calculations when assessing Skilled Migrant Category and Essential Skills applications. Immigration instruction SM6.20(g) states that each hour of work must be paid at or above the applicable per hour remuneration threshold.
Some employment agreements in the Aged and Residential Care Industry include a sleepover clause where the applicant is paid below the applicable remuneration threshold (currently $25.50) for any hours the applicant is allowed to sleep during a shift. Sleepover hours are considered hours of work as the sleepover is an activity performed for gain or reward and is not an activity excluded from the meaning of ‘work’ under immigration instructions (W2.2.1) and therefore, in applications where the applicant receives less than the remuneration threshold for sleepover hours, SM6.20(g) is not met. Rates of pay for sleepover hours also impact the calculation of applicants’ remuneration when assessing an Essential Skills application. Immigration instruction WK3.5.5(g) states that each hour of work must be paid at or above $25.50, for employment to be assessed as paid at or above the median wage (see WK3.5.1.b). For applications where the remuneration requirement is assessed as not being met, the applicants should be provided an opportunity to comment before a decision is made on their application. At this stage the applicant may be able to resubmit a new contract for consideration without the sleepover clause or provide written confirmation from their employer that they are not required to undertake sleepover hours. |