In June 2023, Immigration New Zealand launched an accredited employer checker and announced four Skilled Migrant Visa changes. These Skilled Migrant Visa changes come into effect on 9 October 2023.

Please find the details below.

1. INZ launched an accredited employer checker tool

Migrants applying for an Accredited Employer Work Visa, Straight to Residence Visa or Partner of a Worker Work Visa must work for an accredited employer.

In June, Immigration New Zealand (INZ) made it easier for migrants to find accredited employers. INZ added a searchable tool to their website that enables migrants to check if an employer is accredited.

To use the tool, migrants need information to identify the employer, which may be the employer’s:

• New Zealand Business Number (NZBN), or
• Company name or trading name

The tool is updated with accredited employers once a week. INZ has said that some employers opt out of getting added to the search tool’s list, so migrants are advised to ask employers who don’t appear on the list if they’re accredited.

2. Change is coming to the Skilled Migrant Visa in October

On 21 June 2023, New Zealand’s Minister of Immigration announced four upcoming changes to the Skilled Migrant Visa. These changes come into effect on 9 October 2023.

Simplified points system:

Under the current system, migrants must score 100 points or more to submit an Expression of Interest and 180 points or more to receive an invitation to apply for a Skilled Migrant Visa.

Under the new system, migrants must get at least 6 points to apply for a Skilled Migrant Visa. The points system will award points for:

• New Zealand occupational registration, or
• an eligible qualification, or
• income from a job or job offer,
• and skilled work in New Zealand.

Migrants can only claim points for one of the first three categories, but they can combine those points with points for skilled work.

Skilled job or job offer requirements:

Under the current system, Skilled Migrant Visa applicants must have skilled employment or a job offer for skilled employment. This employment or job offer can be from any New Zealand employer.

From October, the skilled job or job offer must be from an accredited New Zealand employer.

No limit on the number of migrants who can get New Zealand residence

There won’t be a limit on the number of people who can obtain New Zealand residency under the Skilled Migrant Visa category from October 2023. All migrants who meet the visa’s requirements and whose visa applications are accepted will obtain New Zealand residence.

A new Skilled Migrant Category Interim Visa

Migrants who hold a visa when applying for the new Skilled Migrant Visa will get a Skilled Migrant Category Interim Visa when their visa expires.

The Skilled Migrant Category Interim Visa will enable visa holders to stay in New Zealand while their Skilled Migrant Visa application is processed. Migrants with Skilled Migrant Category Interim Visas can travel in and out of New Zealand.

Migrants can also apply for an Accredited Employer Work Visa instead to remain on a valid work visa in New Zealand.

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Immigration New Zealand has announced that the Government is adding 32 new health sector roles to the Green List.

Additionally, all health roles on the Green List will move to the Straight to Residence pathway of the Accredited Employer Work Visa.

Eligible health professionals can apply for work visas from 29 May 2023.

The roles are across the healthcare system

The occupations New Zealand are adding to the Green List are across the healthcare system.

Immigration New Zealand has also indicated these roles are critical to the delivery of health services in New Zealand.

These are the roles:

1. Addiction Practitioner/Alcohol & Drug Clinician
2. Audiometrist
3. Chiropractor
4. Clinical Dental Technician
5. Clinical Physiologists (Sleep, Renal, Exercise, Respiratory, Neurology, and Cardiac)
6. Counsellor
7. Dental Specialists
8. Dental Technician
9. Dental Therapist
10. Dentist
11. Dietician
12. Dispensing Optician
13. Drug and Alcohol Counsellor
14. Enrolled Nurse
15. Genetic Counsellor
16. Medical Laboratory Pre-Analytical Technician
17. Medical Resonance Imaging Technologist
18. Nuclear Medicine Technologist
19. Nurse Practitioner
20. Optometrist
21. Oral Health Therapist
22. Orthotic and Prosthetic Technician
23. Orthotist/Prosthetist
24. Osteopath
25. Paramedic/Emergency Medical Technician
26. Perfusionist (Cardiac)
27. Pharmacist
28. Physiotherapist
29. Play Therapist (Hospital)
30. Social Worker
31. Speech-Language Therapist
32. Sterile Processing Technician

Roles on the Work to Residence pathway moving to the Straight to Residence pathway

Eight existing healthcare roles on the Green List are moving to the Straight to Residence pathway:

1. Anaesthetic Technician
2. Audiologist
3. Medical Imaging Technologist
4. Medical Laboratory Technician
5. Medical Radiation Therapist
6. Occupational Therapist
7. Podiatrist
8. Sonographer

This move means that professionals working in these eight occupations don’t need two years of relevant work experience in New Zealand before being able to apply for residence.

They must, however, still meet these requirements:

• Working for an accredited employer or having a job offer from one
• Meeting the criteria set out on the Green List for their occupation
• Having a full-time job (at least 30 hours a week), genuine and permanent or at least a 12-month fixed-term contract. Independent contractors are also eligible under certain circumstances.

Existing roles on the Straight to Residence pathway

The Green List’s Straight to Residence pathway already includes eight occupations. These roles are as follows:

1. Clinical Psychologist
2. Medical Laboratory Scientist
3. Medical Practitioners
4. Midwife
5. Orthoptist
6. Physicist (Medical)
7. Psychologist
8. Registered Nurses

Applications for the new health roles open at the end of May

Immigration New Zealand announced that applications for the 32 new occupations on the Green List open on 29 May 2023.

You don’t have to wait until then to get the ball rolling, though. You can start today by determining if you meet all the requirements to apply for a work visa. Simply book your consultation call with our licensed advisor on our website.

The sooner you start, the quicker you can submit your application once applications open.

We’re excited to announce that we’re working with a New Zealand recruitment firm to find candidates for five job openings at a leading New Zealand engineering consultancy in the power industry.

These candidates must meet the job requirements and New Zealand’s work visa requirements.

The openings are for the following jobs:

1. Principal/Senior Communications & Control Engineer
2. Principal/Senior Primary Design Engineer
3. Senior Protection and Secondary Design Engineer
4. Power System Analysis (PSA) Engineer
5. Senior Power System Analysis (PSA) Engineer

Keep on reading for the description and requirements of each role.

If you’re interested in a position, please book a consultation call with our licensed advisor Katrin Maja O’Flynn. Katrin will talk you through the immigration assessment process and explain the way forward.

1. Principal/Senior Communications & Control Engineer

The Principal/Senior Communications & Control Engineer uses their specialist knowledge to design and deliver solutions and provide technical guidance to others.

Commercial responsibilities involve quoting, planning, and managing projects, ensuring that they are delivered on time, within budget and to the agreed standards of quality.

Required Experience:

Ten years of industry experience, preferably with engineering consultancy experience.

Responsibilities:

The technical activities carried out by the Communications & Control Engineer are likely to include:

• Project evaluation, scoping, specification and quoting
• Research, design, solutions development, feasibility study and assessment
• Research, strategy development and creation of technology roadmaps, as they apply to the power industry
• Engineering of solutions for telecommunication and IT aspects within the power industry, including:
  • Fiber optic networks
  • Radio network design for point-to-point and multipoint applications
  • Mobile radio and telemetry solutions
  • AC reticulation and DC system design
  • Earthing and lightning protection
  • Cabling networks
  • CCTV and security system
  • Synchronisation and timing techniques
  • SCADA systems, processes, architecture and protocols
  • LAN, WAN, internetworking and development of IP topology and architectures, substation hardened networking and industrial networking solutions
  • Digital power line carrier
  • Communication solutions for protection signalling service requirements
• Definition and design of architecture for multi-layered service-oriented networked solutions, applicable to critical infrastructure
• Awareness and familiarity with cyber security methodologies, architectures, standards and industry best practices applicable to the power industry
• Familiarity with products and FCAPS techniques, applied to NMS and OSS infrastructure requirements
• An awareness and knowledge of IoT, data analytics and their application to the power industry

The project management and commercial aspects of the work involve:

• Managing projects and attending regular meetings, to discuss the best way to move projects forward
• Participating in conference calls and meetings, to discuss products, action plans and team performance
• Attending briefings on new networks and new products
• Managing resources, including budgets, physical resources and project members
• Preparing high-quality written reports and presentations, for management and customer review
• Identifying business development opportunities and assisting in tendering, quoting and customer development
• Ensuring that projects are delivered on time, within budget and to agreed standards of quality

Key Result Areas:

• Technical quality of design deliverables
• Project performance: Time and budget
• Engineering design and judgement
• Project performance: Client expectations

Key Skills and Personal Qualities:

• Technical ability and knowledge
• A very good understanding of protection and secondary design
• Organisational skills
• Adaptability and the ability to learn new skills quickly
• Good presentation and communication skills
• Skilled technical authoring and a good aptitude for report writing
• The ability to work efficiently and effectively with minimal supervision
• The capability to concentrate under pressure, to meet tight deadlines
• Analytical and problem-solving skills
• Business/commercial awareness
• The ability to work well within a team and individually
• The ability to innovate and identify both business and technical opportunities, while carrying out day-to-day duties
• Excellent project and people management skills

2. Principal/Senior Primary Design Engineer

The Primary Design Engineer shall demonstrate experience and sound judgement in both commercial and technical responsibilities.

The technical aspect of the role includes using specialist knowledge to design and deliver solutions, as well as providing technical guidance to other markets and teams.

Commercial responsibilities involve quoting, planning and managing projects, ensuring that they are delivered on time, within budget and to the agreed standards of quality.

Required Experience:

Candidates shall either have at least ten years of experience (Principal) or at least six years of experience (Senior) working in primary design, preferably in New Zealand or Australia.

Alternatively, candidates may demonstrate suitable experience from an equivalent utility sector overseas.

Previous experience in a design consultancy is also an advantage.

Responsibilities:

The technical activities carried out by the Primary Design Engineer are likely to include:

• Acting as the lead designer for primary aspects of a huge variety of projects
• Liaising with civil/structural resources, suppliers and subcontractors, to deliver the design required for our extensive range of clients
• Travelling to meet suppliers, customers and colleagues
• Negotiating project scope, product and technical solution requirements with customers
• Providing technical guidance to colleagues, junior engineers and other teams
• Attending conferences and seminars, to network and keep up to date with the latest developments in the sector
• Liaising with internal and external customers
• Working to tight timescales, as part of a high-performing team
• Arranging process meetings
• Rewriting or modifying processes, to ensure that all aspects of the service run smoothly and to schedule
• Technical writing and authoring of comprehensive reports for a variety of audiences and topics, including technical solutions, strategic papers, concept/detailed design reports, technical roadmaps, asset plans and briefing papers

The commercial aspects of the work involve:

• Managing projects and attending regular meetings, to discuss the best way to move projects forward
• Taking financial and commercial ownership of all project aspects allocated to you
• Participating in conference calls and meetings, to discuss products, action plans and team performance
• Attending briefings on new networks and new products
• Managing resources, including budgets, physical resources and project members
• Preparing high-quality written reports and presentations, for management and customer review
• Identifying business development opportunities and assisting in tendering, quoting and customer development
• Ensuring that projects are delivered on time, within budget and to agreed standards of quality

Key Skills and Personal Qualities:

You will need to show:

• Technical ability and knowledge
• An excellent understanding of primary electrical design
• Organisational skills
• Adaptability and the ability to learn new skills quickly
• Good presentation and communication skills
• Skilled technical authoring and a good aptitude for report writing
• The ability to work efficiently and effectively with minimal supervision
• The capability to concentrate under pressure, to meet tight deadlines
• Analytical and problem-solving skills
• Business/commercial awareness
• The ability to work well within a team and individually
• The ability to innovate and identify both business and technical opportunities, while carrying out day-to-day duties
• Excellent project and people management skills.

3. Senior Protection and Secondary Design Engineer

The Senior Protection and Secondary Design Engineer shall demonstrate experience and sound judgement, in both commercial and technical responsibilities.

The technical aspect of the role includes using specialist knowledge to design and deliver solutions and providing technical guidance to others.

Commercial responsibilities involve quoting, planning and managing projects, ensuring that they are delivered on time, within budget and to the agreed standards of quality.

Required Experience:

Candidates shall have at least six years of experience working in protection and secondary systems design, preferably in New Zealand or Australia.

Alternatively, candidates may demonstrate suitable experience from an equivalent utility sector overseas.

Previous experience in a design consultancy and/or New Zealand distribution company is also an advantage.

Responsibilities:

The technical activities carried out by the Protection and Secondary Design Engineer are likely to include:

• Travelling to meet suppliers, customers and colleagues, based in other offices
• Negotiating project scope, product and technical solution requirements with customers
• Providing technical guidance to colleagues and other teams
• Attending conferences and seminars, to network and keep up to date with the latest developments in the sector
• Liaising with internal and external customers
• Analysing and interpreting data, to refine and improve power systems performance
• Working to tight timescales, as part of a high-performing team
• Arranging process meeting
• Rewriting or modifying processes, to ensure that all aspects of the service run smoothly and to schedule
• Technical writing and authoring of comprehensive reports, for a variety of audiences and topics, including technical solutions, strategic papers, concept/detailed design reports, technical roadmaps, asset plans and briefing papers

The commercial aspects of the work involve:

• Managing projects and attending regular meetings, to discuss the best way to move projects forward
• Participating in conference calls and meetings, to discuss products, action plans and team performance
• Attending briefings on new networks and new products
• Managing resources, including budgets, physical resources and project members
• Preparing high-quality written reports and presentations, for management and customer review
• Identifying business development opportunities and assisting in tendering, quoting and customer development
• Ensuring that projects are delivered on time, within budget and to agreed standards of quality

Key Skills and Personal Qualities:

You will need to show:

• Technical ability and knowledge
• A very good understanding of protection and secondary design
• Organisational skills
• Adaptability and the ability to learn new skills quickly
• Good presentation and communication skills
• Skilled technical authoring and a good aptitude for report writing
• The ability to work efficiently and effectively with minimal supervision
• The capability to concentrate under pressure, to meet tight deadlines
• Analytical and problem-solving skills
• Business/commercial awareness
• The ability to work well within a team and individually
• The ability to innovate and identify both business and technical opportunities, while carrying out day-to-day duties
• Excellent project and people management skills

4. Power System Analysis (PSA) Engineer

The Power System Analysis (PSA) Engineer shall assist with analysis work underpinning generator connections. The role includes but is not limited to the following tasks:

• Project evaluation, scoping, specification and quoting
• Engineering of solutions for generation aspects of the power system
• Modelling and analysis of the power system, with knowledge of the following techniques:
  • Load-flow and short circuit assessment
  • Analytic techniques, including PV and QV analysis, for determination of power system limits
  • Dynamic RMS simulations, for transient and voltage stability
  • Generator control systems modelling, including AVR, PSS, OEL, UEL and speed governors
  • Knowledge of scripting techniques (for instance, Python), within industry standard tools, such as PSS/E and PowerFactory, would be an advantage
  • Experience in the use of Siemens PSS/E and DIgSILENT PowerFactory, to undertake system studies, would be highly advantageous
• Communicating results and solutions to our clients

Work experience:

Candidates shall have at least five years’ experience working in the power systems sector, preferably in New Zealand or Australia.

Alternatively, candidates may demonstrate suitable experience from an equivalent utility sector overseas.

Responsibilities:

The technical activities carried out by the Power Systems Analysis Engineer are likely to include:

• Travelling to meet suppliers, customers and colleagues, based in other offices around New Zealand and Australia
• Providing technical guidance to colleagues and other teams
• Liaising with internal and external customers
• Analysing and interpreting data, to refine and improve power systems performance
• Working to tight timescales, as part of a high-performing team
• Technical writing and authoring of comprehensive reports in English, for a variety of audiences and topics, including technical solutions, strategic papers, and concept/detailed design reports.

The management aspects of the work involve:

• Managing projects and attending regular meetings, to discuss the best way to move projects forward
• Participating in conference calls and meetings, to discuss products, action plans and team performance
• Managing resources, including budgets, physical resources and project members;
• Identifying business development opportunities and assisting in tendering, quoting and customer development
• Ensuring that projects are delivered on time, within budget and to agreed standards of quality

Key Skills and Personal Qualities:

You will need to show:

• Technical ability and knowledge
• A good understanding of power systems analysis techniques, using a range of industry-standard tools
• Experience with power system analysis tools, such as DIgSILENT PowerFactory and PSS/E
• Organisational skills
• Adaptability and the ability to learn new skills quickly
• Good presentation and communication skills
• Skilled technical authoring and a good aptitude for report writing
• The ability to work efficiently and effectively, with minimal supervision
• The capability to concentrate under pressure, to meet tight deadlines
• Analytical and problem-solving skills
• Business/commercial awareness
• The ability to work well within a team and individually
• An ability to innovate and identify both business and technical opportunities, while carrying out day-to-day duties

5. Senior Power System Analysis (PSA) Engineer

The Senior Power System Analysis Engineer role includes but is not limited to the following tasks:

• Project evaluation, scoping, specification and quoting
• Engineering of solutions for generation aspects of the power system
• Modelling and analysis of the power system, with knowledge of the following techniques:
  • Load-flow and short circuit assessment
  • Analytic techniques, including PV and QV analysis, for determination of power system limits
  • Dynamic RMS simulations, for transient and voltage stability
  • Generator control systems modelling, including AVR, PSS, OEL, UEL and speed governors
  • Knowledge of scripting techniques (for instance, Python), within industry standard tools, such as PSS/E and PowerFactory, would be an advantage
  • Experience in the use of Siemens PSS/E and DIgSILENT PowerFactory, to undertake system studies, would be highly advantageous
• Communicating results and solutions to our clients

Work experience:

Candidates shall have at least six years of experience working in the power systems sector, preferably in New Zealand or Australia.

Alternatively, candidates may demonstrate suitable experience from an equivalent utility sector overseas.

Responsibilities:

The technical activities carried out by the Senior Power Systems Analysis Engineer are likely to include:

• Travelling to meet suppliers, customers and colleagues, based in other offices around New Zealand and Australia
• Providing technical guidance to colleagues and other teams
• Liaising with internal and external customers
• Analysing and interpreting data, to refine and improve power systems performance
• Working to tight timescales, as part of a high-performing team
• Technical writing and authoring of comprehensive reports in English, for a variety of audiences and topics, including technical solutions, strategic papers, concept/detailed design reports

The management aspects of the work involve:

• Managing projects and attending regular meetings, to discuss the best way to move projects forward
• Participating in conference calls and meetings, to discuss products, action plans and team performance
• Managing resources, including budgets, physical resources and project members
• Identifying business development opportunities and assisting in tendering, quoting and customer development
• Ensuring that projects are delivered on time, within budget and to agreed standards of quality

Key Skills and Personal Qualities:

You will need to show:

• Expert level knowledge of PSS/E and PSCAD software tools, including advanced automation techniques using Python
• In-depth knowledge of the Australian National Electricity Rules (NER) S5.2.5
• Prior experience with generator connection studies in the National Electricity Market (NEM), including preparation of documentation
• Technical ability and knowledge
• A good understanding of power systems analysis techniques, using a range of industry-standard tools
• Experience with power system analysis tools, such as DIgSILENT and PowerFactory
• Organisational skills
• Adaptability and the ability to learn new skills quickly
• Good presentation and communication skills
• Skilled technical authoring and a good aptitude for report writing
• The ability to work efficiently and effectively, with minimal supervision
• The capability to concentrate under pressure, to meet tight deadlines
• Analytical and problem-solving skills
• Business/commercial awareness
• The ability to work well within a team and individually
• An ability to innovate and identify both business and technical opportunities, while carrying out day-to-day duties

Don’t forget to book your consultation call!

To learn more and to find out if you qualify for a New Zealand work visa, book a consultation call with our licensed advisor.

Please use the I have a job offer for New Zealand – Consultation option on her Calendly.

Our advisor will assess your eligibility to apply for a New Zealand work visa, talk you through your visa options, and explain how the process works. Our consultation calls are 30 minutes, and it’s a once-off 49€ fee.

Our team looks forward to hearing from you!