New Zealand introduces changes to visa rules, know what changes for migrants

New Zealand has introduced some changes to visa and employment requirements to restructure immigration processes and address issues in its labour market. These new updates will likely ease the criteria for both employees and hiring firms when it comes to work experience, wages and visa durations.  

These are the following changes introduced by the government of New Zealand.  

Income requirements for immigrants with dependents 

Accredited Employer Work Visa (AEWV) holders should at least earn NZ$55,844 (₹2,542,862) annually to bring their children to New Zealand. This income threshold has been unchanged since 2019 and is structured to ensure that migrant families live well financially.  

Lowering the criteria for work experience  

The criterion for work experience has been lowered for migrants from three to two years to overcome shortage of labour. This change will likely help competent workers find good employment easily in the country. New Zealand has introduced two new ways for seasonal workers- for the seasonal workers with expertise, multi-entry visa is available for three years and for the lower-skilled workers a single-entry visa is available for seven months.  

These changes in policies are curated to fulfill the requirements of seasonal demands.  Currently, a temporary seasonal worker program is active until a new system is put in place.  

Duration of visa extension for lower-skilled positions  

To get jobs that are considered under Australian and New Zealand Standard Classification of Occupations (ANZSCO) skill levels 4 or 5, employees will get a three years' work visa from visa for two years earlier. The current employees in these jobs with a two-year visa who fulfill the necessary requirements may apply for a one-year extension.  

Employers are not needed to follow Work and Income's 21-day mandated recruitment period when announcing job openings for skill level 4 or 5. To show that they are trying to hire locally, employers merely need to post job openings and conduct interviews with eligible candidates.  

From April 2025, those who want to transition from any other work or student visas to AEWV will be given interim work rights. This will help migrants looking for approval of their new visas to stay in employment.