September 2022 - NZ Immigration

Changes to New Zealand Post Study Work Visa

Posted on September 28, 2022 by admin

New Zealand is a popular study-abroad destination because of its scenic beauty and top-ranking universities offering various interesting courses. Most international students want to gain work experience in New Zealand once their study programme is completed.

What is the New Zealand Post Study Work Visa

The NZ Post Study Work Visa allows students to work in the country after completing their studies. It is designed to support the attraction of international students in courses that deliver the skills needed in New Zealand’s growing economy.

Student Visa applications lodged on or before 11 May 2022

Previously, the Post Study Work Visa NZ allowed these students to work in any role, for any employer, anywhere in New Zealand. The duration of the visa was up to 3 years.

However, things have now changed. The Post Study Work Visa New Zealand will now depend on the qualification studied and the time spent studying in New Zealand.

Student Visa applications lodged after 11 May 2022

For these students, the post study duration will be equal to the time spent studying full-time in New Zealand.

Masters (Level 9) & doctoral (Level 10) students:

They will continue to have will be eligible for 3 years open work visa i.e., they can work in any role and for any employer.

Students pursuing degree Level 7 (Bachelor’s) and level 8:

These students will have to spend at least 30 weeks studying full-time in New Zealand and the visa duration will depend on the length of time spent studying in New Zealand.

The advantages are that these students can do consecutive courses to get a longer duration NZ Post Study Work Visa. Also, they will have open work rights allowing them to work in a role that is not in line with their qualification.

Students pursuing non-degree Level 7 and below:

These students must complete their full qualification from New Zealand. Also, the qualification studies must be on the List of Qualifications Eligible for a Post Study Work Visa.

Unfortunately, these students cannot extend the duration of their Post Study Work Visa NZ by doing consecutive courses. Bear in mind that they must also work in a role that is directly related to their qualification.

Funds

Anyone applying for a Post Study Work Visa NZ must show that they have NZD 5,000 as available funds

Partners & dependents of New Zealand Post Study Work Visa holders

NZ Post Study Work Visa holders can bring their partners & dependent children to New Zealand. One of the most frequently asked questions is if partners of NZ Post Study Work Visa holders can apply for a work visa.

Partners can apply for a visitor visa or an open work visa. Dependents can apply for a visitor visa. They can also study fee-free as domestic students in New Zealand.

If you want to bring your partner/ children to New Zealand then please provide your details by clicking here and we will help you with a partnership-based / dependent child visa.

Benefits of the changes made to the New Zealand Post Study Work Visa requirements

The changes to the NZ Post Study Work Visa requirements will give certainty to international students studying advanced qualifications. It will also align better with New Zealand’s skills & workforce needs.

The Government’s aim is to fill the skills shortages in New Zealand and have a higher productivity, higher-wage economy.

Gaining international work experience is beneficial in laying the foundation of a strong & bright career.

Get in touch with Immigration Advisors New Zealand Ltd, which provides up-to-date immigration information so you can consider opportunities and prepare yourself for the future. To know all the required procedures, contact us at contact@nzimmigration.info or call on +64 09 3790219.

Sources: Link 1 Link 2 Link 3

Processing of Accredited Employer Work Visa Applications

Posted on September 22, 2022 by admin

All Accredited Employer Work Visa Applications (AEWV) lodged since 18 September 2022 will now be processed by Immigration New Zealand (INZ)’s enhanced Immigration Online system. This will allow quicker processing of applications.

The AEWV opened to applicants on 4 July 2022. Since then, applications have been processed partially in the AMS system to allow further testing of the enhanced system. Those applications lodged before 18 September 2022 will continue to be processed this way.

INZ aims to complete processing applications within 20 working days. Applicants must submit supporting documents or requested information at the earliest to enable quick processing.

Applicants can refer to the User Guide for reference. More information about the enhancements to the Immigration Online system can be found here.

Changes to Passport Requirements for New Zealand Temporary Visas

Posted on September 22, 2022 by admin

Immigration New Zealand (INZ) has received a huge volume of applications since the borders re-opened in July 2022 leading to delays in visa processing. INZ is taking steps to rectify this problem.

The requirement for most applicants to submit physical passports has been removed temporarily. Applicants are instead required to provide a high-quality scanned copy of their passport along with their application.

Despite the above, in some cases, an Immigration officer may request an applicant to submit the physical passport to their nearest Visa Application Centre (VAC) since it is required to process the application. This will be on a case-to-case basis.

INZ will monitor the effects of this change to ensure that this does not affect application processing and to see if this can be continued in the future.

Those applying for a group visitor visa or student visa through the Immigration Online platform will receive an automated letter requesting passport submission. However, this is currently not required and INZ is working on updating the letter to resolve this issue.

Reopening of Samoan Quota & Pacific Access Category Resident Visas

Posted on September 21, 2022 by admin

Immigration New Zealand (INZ) has announced that the Samoan Quota (SQ) and Pacific Access Category (PAC) resident visas will reopen in October. These visa holders will be able to work, study & live in New Zealand.

Due to the Covid -19 pandemic & closure of New Zealand’s borders, SQ and PAC resident visa schemes were suspended.

Unused ballot places from 2020 and 2021 have been reallocated over future years.

Samoan Quota (SQ)

The registration for the SQ visa ballot will reopen on 3 October 2022 and close on 2 November 2022 at 1700 NZST.

The maximum number of registrations available each year are:

1,650 Samoan citizens each year from 2022 to 2025
1,100 Samoan citizens each year from 2026 onwards.

More information regarding the Samoan Quota Resident Visa can be found here.

Pacific Access Category (PAC)

The registration for the PAC visa ballot will reopen on 5 October 2022 and close on 4 November at 1700 NZST.

The maximum number of registrations available for 2022 and 2023 are:

500 Fijian citizens each year
150 Kiribati citizens each year
500 Tongan citizens each year
150 Tuvaluan citizens each year.

The maximum number of registrations available for 2024 onwards:

250 Fijian citizens each year
75 Kiribati citizens each year
250 Tongan citizens each year
75 Tuvaluan citizens each year

More information about the Pacific Access Category Resident Visa can be found here.

Eligibility

To be eligible for the SQ or PAC visa, you must:

Be between 18 & 45 years of age (inclusive) when you apply
Be able to speak, read & write English AND
Have a genuine job offer from an employer in New Zealand

Dependent Children

Principal visa applicants who want to bring their dependent children to New Zealand must have a job offer paying at least NZD 49,159 a year. Also, the children must be 24 years or below and must be included in the ballot registration

The Process

Ballot Registration

Citizens of Fiji, Samoa & Tonga – They need to register online, and the online registration form will be available when registration opens in October.
Citizens of Kiribati & Tuvalu – They can use either the online form or paper form to register
Friends, Family & representatives will be able to fill out the forms on behalf of people registering for the visa ballots.

Fees

There is no fee for registering for the Samoan Quota ballot.

For the Pacific Access Category, the registration fees are NZD $85 for first registration, and NZD $35 for second or subsequent registrations

Invitation to Apply

Those invited to apply for the SQ and PAC visas will have 8 months to submit their application to INZ.INZ’s Pacific offices will process these applications.

Click here for information about the Samoan Quota application process.
Click here for information about the Pacific Access Category

New Active Investor Plus Visa

Posted on September 20, 2022 by admin

To bring experienced & skilled high-value investors to New Zealand, the Government has created a new Active Investor Plus Visa category which opened for applicants on 19 September 2022.

The previous Investor 1 and Investor 2 visa categories, which closed in July 2022, have now been replaced by this new visa category.

More information about the Active Investor Plus Visa can be found here.

Applying for the New Active Investor Plus visa

Anyone wanting to apply for this new visa category must fill out the online form available on the Immigration New Zealand (INZ) website.

Weighting system for acceptable direct investments

INZ will assess whether investors are meeting their visa requirements and make decisions on applications. New Zealand Trade and Enterprise (NZTE) will advise which investments are acceptable. They will also provide support to these investors.

To encourage direct investments and attract active investor migrants who will boost the country’s economy, the Active Investor Plus visa category will incentivise direct investment in New Zealand firms through a weighting system.

Acceptable investments carry different weightings toward the NZD 15 million investment threshold. You can invest in a combination of these. Direct investments into a private business will receive the highest weighting (3x). You could meet the required investment amount by investing NZD 5 million into direct investment.

If INZ approves your visa application in principle, you will have 6 months to transfer and invest your funds in New Zealand.

Other Changes

The new investment visa will enable people to invest over three years. They will have to maintain the investments until the end of the fourth year. Also, they will need to spend at least 117 days in New Zealand during those 4 years.
There will be a cap on listed entities, thus limiting the scope for passive investments.
Active Investor Plus visa holders will need to have a moderate level of English language skills – IELTS 5 or equivalent

Qualifications Eligible for an NZ Post Study Work Visa

Posted on September 19, 2022 by admin

Most international students coming to New Zealand want to work after completing their studies to gain practical overseas work experience. The New Zealand Post Study Work Visa (PSWV) allows some international students to work in New Zealand after completing their studies.

Depending on the level of studies and the time the student has spent in New Zealand studying that course, Post Study Work Visa can allow work entitlement to international students for up to 3 years.

If you have applied for a Student Visa on or after 12 May 2022, you may qualify for a Post Study Work Visa under one of the following:

if you have completed a Master’s degree or above, you may be granted a three years post-study work visa. This visa will allow you to work for any employer in any role.
if you have completed a degree level 7 (Bachelor’s degree) or above qualification, you may be granted a post-study work visa equivalent to the duration of the course completed in New Zealand. You can work for any employer in any role.
If you complete a qualification at non-degree level 7 or below, you may be granted a post-study work visa only if the qualification is eligible for a Post Study Work Visa. The duration of the visa will be the same as the time spent in New Zealand to obtain the qualification, and you will be required to work in a role that is related to your qualification.

The list of Qualifications Eligible for a Post Study Work Visa contains twenty-one qualifications in construction and quantity surveying, highway engineering, electrical engineering, teaching and dairy farming. The list has seven level 4 and 5 diplomas, eight-level 6 diplomas and six level 7 diplomas. A full list of these qualifications can be found here

Those who have applied for a Student Visa on or before 11 May 2022 are eligible for a Post Study Work Visa under the previous settings as long as the application for a post-study work visa was lodged before 11 May 2025.

Acceptable qualifications for a Post Study Work Visa before 12 May 2022 can be found here

Get in touch with Immigration Advisors New Zealand Ltd, for up-to-date immigration information so you can consider the range of opportunities available and prepare yourself for the future. To know all the required procedures, contact us at contact@nzimmigration.info or call +64 09 3790219.

Source: Link 1

Health Standards for Residence Visa Applicants

Posted on September 12, 2022 by admin

To be granted residence in New Zealand, most applicants must have an acceptable standard of health (ASH). This essentially means that an applicant must not have a health condition that is likely to impose significant costs or demands on New Zealand’s health services.

The prior threshold for determining whether health conditions impose significant costs was $41,000, over:

five years, or
the predicted course of the condition.

From 2 September 2022, the threshold for determining conditions that may impose significant health costs has increased from $41,000 to $81,000.

Residence applications lodged before 4 September 2022 will be assessed at the previous cost threshold of $41,000. Applicants may be considered for medical waivers on a case-by-case basis.

To know more about New Zealand’s health requirements and how they applies to your unique situation, get in touch with Immigration Advisors New Zealand Ltd at contact@nzimmigration.info or call on +64 09 3790219.

Highly Paid Skilled Residence Category

Posted on September 10, 2022 by admin

The Highly Paid Residence Visa category was introduced by Immigration New Zealand as a way of attracting highly skilled migrant workers to New Zealand.

This category is for those migrant workers who earn more than twice the median wage. To be eligible under this category, a migrant is required to have worked for 24 months.

The acceptable work experience will be counted from 29 September 2021. An applicant should show 24 months of work experience within 30 months before the visa application is submitted.

There can be small breaks in your employment. But you must still show you worked for the required 24 months within the 30 months before your visa application date. You can apply for this visa from September 2023.

To be eligible for the Highly Paid Residence Visa category, an applicant must have employment or an offer of employment from an accredited employer in a role that pays at least twice the median wage, that is, NZ $55.52 per hour.

In addition to the above, several general application requirements for this category are listed below.

The applicant must:

be aged 55 or younger.
meet the English language requirement.
meet the health and character requirements for residence.

If you meet the above requirements, you may be eligible for Residence under the Highly Paid Skilled category. This is a great opportunity as it enables you to reside permanently in New Zealand.

As this is a new application process, it is advisable to seek the assistance of an experienced Licensed Immigration Adviser to avoid disappointments due to a lack of knowledge of the application process.

What is the Green List?

Posted on September 9, 2022 by admin

The Green List is a new list of occupations that qualify for a New Zealand residency pathway. It is shorter and more focused than the old Regional Skills Shortage List. Many (but not all) of the roles on the Long-Term Skills Shortage List are also on the Green List.

To qualify for a work visa under the Green List, an overseas applicant must have a job offer that matches that occupation’s description or requirements and prove that their overseas qualification meets the comparable New Zealand qualification standard for their occupation.

The Green List will make it easier for employers to hire and attract migrants for specified high-skilled, hard-to-fill occupations, with guaranteed residence pathways for eligible people.

Employers won’t need to provide proof of advertising for Green List occupations when progressing an Accredited Employer Work Visa (AEWV) job check application.

The Green List is about making it easier to attract globally in-demand workers, but it is not the only pathway to residence available. Other employers will still be able to access skilled migrants, and many will also have a path to NZ residence through the Skilled Migrant Category (SMC).

How to apply for an NZ Green List Role

Posted on September 9, 2022 by admin

What is the Green List

The Green List is a list of a limited number of highly skilled roles that are in shortage in New Zealand. The list makes it easier for NZ employers to attract & hire migrants in highly skilled & hard to fill roles.

How to apply for NZ Green List Roles

To be eligible and apply, you must be employed by, or hold the offer of a Green List role from, an accredited employer in New Zealand. Once eligible, you can apply in New Zealand or come on a work visa and apply. You can also apply from outside of New Zealand.

Eligible migrants working in Green List occupations will have clear pathways to residence, either through a direct-to-residence application or after working in New Zealand, depending on the role. Their partners will have open work rights. Both residence pathways will be limited to migrants 55 years or younger, which is aligned with the Skilled Migrant Category (SMC) requirements.

The details of eligibility criteria that you must know before you apply for the straight to residence, work to residence and highly paid skilled residence categories are as under:

Fast-Tracked ‘Straight to Residence’ Pathway

To be eligible for this residence visa, you must be employed by, or hold a job offer from, an accredited employer.

Your role must be on Tier 1 of the Green List
You must meet the specified requirements on the list for your role
Your role must be full-time (at least 30 hours a week), genuine, and permanent, or be at least a 12-month fixed-term contract.

Under certain circumstances, independent contractors are also eligible. To be eligible under the Straight to Residence pathway as a contractor, you must meet requirements such as our contract or contracts for services totaling at least six months. Shorter contracts must be consecutive without any breaks between them.

Work to Residence Pathway

To be eligible for this residence visa, you must:

Be employed in a role on Tier 2 of the Green List or hold an offer of employment
Meet the specified requirements on the list for the role
Have worked for 24 months in New Zealand in a role (and meet the specified requirements) on Tier 2 of the Green List.
Your employer must be accredited when you apply for this visa.

The employment or offer must be full-time (at least 30 hours a week), genuine, and permanent, or at least a 12-month fixed-term contract.

Highly Paid Residence Visa

To be eligible for this residence visa, you must have:

Employment or an offer of employment in a role that is paid at least twice the median wage (currently NZD 55.52 an hour)
Been working for 24 months in New Zealand in a role that paid at least twice the median wage.
Your employer must also be accredited when you apply for this visa.

General Requirements

There are some general application requirements too. These are that on the date you apply for your residence visa:

you are aged 55 or younger
you, and if applicable, your partner, and dependent children aged 16 or over, meet the English language requirements
You, your partner, and the dependent children in your application meet health and character requirements for residence.

Suppose you hold an Accredited Employer Work Visa or another type of work visa. In that case, you (and any family, if applicable) still need to meet the health and character requirements for residence. These are different from the requirements for temporary work visas. In addition, at the time you apply, you must be working for an accredited employer.

One-off Increase to Working Holiday Scheme Caps

Posted on September 8, 2022 by admin

Immigration New Zealand (INZ) offers Working Holiday Schemes (WHS) to young people, usually in the age-group of 18-30 years but 18-35 years in a few select countries. Working holiday schemes have cap limits which are now being changed.

INZ is adding one extra year’s worth of places to all capped Working Holiday Schemes for 2022. This means that those schemes that have already filled up for this year will once again re-open between 8 September and 1 December 2022.

The WHS that were previously closed this year will open on the following dates:

Working Holiday Scheme	Reopening date
Malaysia	8 September 2022
Argentina	15 September 2022
Chile	22 September 2022
Taiwan	29 September 2022
China	11 October 2022
Hong Kong	18 October 2022
Brazil	20 October 2022
Vietnam	25 October 2022
Mexico	27 October 2022
Philippines	1 November 2022
Hungary	3 November 2022
Slovakia	8 November 2022
Austria	10 November 2022
Poland	15 November 2022
Lithuania	17 November 2022
Peru	22 November 2022
Turkey	24 November 2022
Portugal	1 December 2022
Spain	To be scheduled

New Post Study Work Visa Settings

Posted on September 7, 2022 by admin

New requirements for New Zealand’s Post Study Work Visa came into effect on 7 September 2022. These changes apply to anyone who has applied for a Student Visa after 11 May 2022.

Previously, Post Study Work Visa holders could apply for any job and work for any employer, anywhere in New Zealand. The visa conditions will now depend on the qualification the visa holder has gained in New Zealand.

Only one Post Study Work Visa may be granted to an applicant. Also, they will need to show that they have funds of NZD 5,000 available.

Visa Duration and Employment Conditions

The Post Study Work Visa will continue to be valid for up to three years. The duration of this visa will be in line with the time spent studying full-time in New Zealand for most people.

Eligibility criteria:

Degree level 7 and above students: Must have spent at least 30 weeks studying fulltime in New Zealand
Non-degree level 7 and below students: Must have completed their full qualification in New Zealand

Immigration New Zealand (INZ) will refer to the offer of place or a letter from the education provider to determine the duration of the Post Study Work Visa. Additional time taken by a student to finish a course will not be taken into account.

Masters and doctoral students:

They will continue to be eligible for 3 years open post study work visas.
Doctoral students will henceforth be eligible for the Post Study Work Visa after they submit their theses for examination
Confirmation from the education provider will be required

For students pursuing degree level 7 and level 8:

The Length of the post-study work visa will equal the time the applicant has spent studying full-time in New Zealand.
Students need to have spent at least 30 weeks studying full-time in New Zealand.
Can do consecutive courses to increase the length of post-study work visa
Will be granted open work visas i.e. be able to work in any occupation, for any employer, anywhere in New Zealand

For non-degree level 7 and below:

Students are required to have completed the full qualification in New Zealand
No extra time will be gained by completing qualifications at this level consecutively
Qualification should be on the list of Qualifications Eligible for a Post Study Work Visa (NOTE: This list is different to the Green List)
Must work in a role directly relating to their completed qualification.

New Pathways to New Zealand Residence

Posted on September 5, 2022 by admin

Closed borders and restricted border entry during the Covid-19 pandemic led to a severe labour shortage in New Zealand.

Three New Residence Pathways

On 27 July 2022, as part of the immigration rebalance plan, the New Zealand Government announced three new residence categories to make it easier for employers to attract & hire migrants in highly-skilled, hard-to-fill roles:

Straight to Residence
Work to Residence
Highly Paid

Immigration Minister Michael Wood has announced that the Government is keeping its promise of streamlining the immigration system to help relieve workforce shortage by providing significant humanitarian support.

From 5 September 2022 onwards, eligible skilled migrants who have a job or a job offer in specific roles on the Straight to Residence pathway will be able to apply for residence, both from offshore and onshore.

This will benefit migrant workers who have skills in hard-to-find, nationally significant roles that New Zealand requires. The Straight to Residence pathway offers more certainty to some migrants like health practitioners, engineers, construction and infrastructure workers and IT professionals. It will also make it easier for New Zealand employers to easily attract and hire migrant workers in areas of skill shortage.

Skilled migrants on the Work to Residence and Highly Paid resident pathways will be able to apply for residence from 29 September 2023 only after they have obtained 24 months of acceptable work in New Zealand.

Refugee Quota Programme

The details for the next three years of the Refugee Quota Programme have also been confirmed including the structure of the 2022-23 quota.

Michael Wood has stated‘’ The Refugee Quota Programme is a reflection of New Zealand’s international humanitarian commitments to protect people who are not able to return safely to their home country’’

The programme, which is back to its full capacity, will resettle 1,500 refugees each year. The proportion of places allocated to three out of four regions is being changed. The proportion of places for the Middle East and Africa has been increased from 15% to 20 % respectively.

200 places will be allocated to resettle Syrian refugees including Kurdish minorities from Iraq, Jordan & Lebanon.
The number of emergency and urgent resettlement places has been increased from 35 to 100
200 places have been specifically set aside for Afghan refugees for the 2022-23 period following the Taliban take-over of Afghanistan in August 2021.
As part of the quota’s international allocations, Afghan refugees will be considered for resettlement in New Zealand.

The above changes have been made to ensure that the Refugee Quota Programme remains open to protecting the needs of the refugees coming into the country.

Sources: Link 1 Link 2

First-time NZ Student Visa Application Checklist

Posted on September 3, 2022 by admin

New Zealand is one of the most popular study-abroad destinations. It has multiple universities & educational institutes that offer a variety of courses.

We have covered here the First Time Student Visa Checklist, which is designed for people applying for a NZ student visa for the first time as international students.

Submitting the right documents/ information is crucial for obtaining this visa. Immigration New Zealand (INZ) has a checklist for those applying for a student visa for the first time as an international student. Once you have an offer of a place from a university/ institute, it is time to apply for a Student Visa.

Main Requirements:

Evidence of Funds

A student must demonstrate that they have sufficient funds for tuition fees and NZD 20,000 per year for living expenses like food, accommodation, transportation, and utility bills – gas, water, electricity, mobile, internet, etc.

Students must provide evidence that they have paid the fees for the first year and a payment plan with evidence for fee payment for the remaining course duration, if applicable.

You can provide evidence of funds held by you or by someone else on your behalf, a financial undertaking from a non-New Zealander, evidence of being awarded a scholarship, or a sponsorship undertaking from an NZ citizen/resident/ organization.

Bank statements from the past three months and education loan letters from nationalized or multi-national banks are usually accepted by INZ.

Gold loans, funds held by the Post Office co-operative societies, chit funds, bonds, property sales & agricultural income, etc. are usually difficult to verify and not readily acceptable by INZ.

For more detailed information on the evidence of funds required to study in New Zealand, please click here.

Cover Letter/ Statement of Purpose

Provide a supporting letter outlining your study plans, future plans, reasons for selecting the course and educational provider, education history, explaining payment plans and gap years.

Additional Technology Roles Added to the Green List

Posted on September 2, 2022 by admin

In line with an earlier announcement by the NZ government, Green List Straight to Residence pathway will open at 10 am on 5 September 2022.

In another recent announcement, a few more digital technology roles will be added to the Green List Straight to Residence pathway by 10 October 2022. However, to get on this pathway, migrants, apart from meeting the qualification requirements specified for these roles, must also be paid an annual salary of at least NZ$ 120,000 (or NZ$57.69 per hour).

These roles are

Analyst Programmer
Developer Programmer
Software Tester
Software and Applications Programmers

Migrants employed in a role on the Green List may qualify for a Straight to Residence Visa or Work to Residence Visa. These occupations were also previously specified in the digital technology exception to the COVID-19 border restrictions.

The application fee and immigration levy will be between NZD 4,020 and NZD 4,890, depending on whether someone is applying from within New Zealand or another part of the world. These fees include Goods and Services Tax (GST) and exclude the International Visitor Conservation and Tourism Levy (IVL).

Contact the team at Immigration Advisers New Zealand Ltd. today at contact@nzimmigration.info or call on +64 09 3790219 to test your eligibility for residence under this category. You can also send us your query by clicking on this link and providing some basic relevant information about yourself, and we will get in touch with you.

Student Visa

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