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NZ Work Visa Changes

INZ have today announced a raft of changes to NZ work visas.
 
There are 4 key changes.
 
Automatic Visa Extensions
Extensions to all existing employer-assisted temporary work visas for people who are in New Zealand and whose visas are due to expire before the end of 2020 by six months.
 
That includes work visa holders whose visas are due to expire after 9 July, as well as those visas that were previously extended to 25 September under the Epidemic Management Notice.
 
Applies to all Essential Skills and Work to Residence visa holders who are in New Zealand.
 
All other conditions of the original visa remain the same, including the specific occupation and specific employer and location.

Delay to Stand-Down Period
INZ will delay the introduction of the 12 month stand down period for lower-paid workers who have had their employer-assisted work visa extended.
 
Any low-skilled Essential Skills workers who are subject to the stand-down between August 2020 and the end of December 2020 to stay in New Zealand and work for the same employer in the same occupation and location for up to a further six months, in line with their visa extension.
 
Stand down period will still apply if a migrants who is subject to the stand down moves to another lower-paid Essential skills work visa.
 
Any migrants who are subject to the stand-down period from February 2021 will still be required to leave New Zealand for 12 months before they are able to apply for another lower-paid work visa.

6 Month Low Skilled Essential Skills
A change to reduce the duration of all new lower-paid Essential Skills work visas from 12 months to six months to mitigate future labour market risks.
 
Will apply to all new lower-paid Essential Skills work visa applications lodged from 10 July.
 
Applications received prior to 10 July will still be granted a 12 months visa if approved.

Removal of ANZSCO in Skilled Level Assessment – Mid 2020 Changes
From 27 July ANZSCO will no longer be used to determine whether a job is considered higher- or lower-paid.

Remuneration threshold will be used which means that work visa applications for jobs that are paid below the median wage will need to include a Skills Match Report (SMR) .

The duration of the visa will also be dependent on whether the individual will be paid above or below the national median wage.

Lot of changes here. If you want to discuss how this impacts you please contact us.

Cameron

About the author

Cameron is highly experienced in visa applications and spent over a decade as a Visa Officer for the Australian Consulate General in New Zealand. He is a licensed immigration adviser for New Zealand is also an Australian Registered Migration Agent.

Cameron has extensive experience with assisting NZ businesses to look after their migrant teams as well as managing approval in principal and accreditation applications. He also specialises in employer assisted NZ work visas, as well as SMC and other residence visas.

Cameron Gray
IAA 201301155
MARN 1791918

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