On 30 September 2021, New Zealand’s Minister of Immigration, Kris Faafoi, announced the 2021 Resident Visa!

This 2021 Resident visa is a one-off, simplified pathway to residence for around 165,000 migrants currently in New Zealand. Some people arriving in New Zealand between 30 September 2021 and 31 July 2022 on long-term critical purpose visas may also be eligible for this new visa.

More about the 2021 Resident Visa

The 2021 Resident Visa provides a residency pathway for up to 165,000 migrants, including more than 5,000 health and aged care workers, about 9,000 primary industry workers, and more than 800 teachers.

The 2021 Resident Visa will be available to most holders of work-related visas – including Essential Skills, Work to Residence, and Post Study Work Visas – and their immediate family members.

“We are providing a way forward for our migrant families who have been long disrupted by COVID-19 while ensuring businesses have the certainty they need to plan into the future and continue driving the economic recovery,” Minister Faafoi said.

Applications for the 2021 Resident Visa will open in two phases. The first phase will start on 1 December 2021 for some eligible applicants. The second phase will kick off on 1 March 2022 for the remaining eligible applicants. The deadline for all applications is 31 July 2022.

Strict eligibility criteria

To be eligible to apply for a 2021 Resident visa, you must have met the criteria on 29 September 2021. These criteria state that you must:

• have been in New Zealand on 29 September 2021, and
• be on an eligible visa or have applied for an eligible visa on or before 29 September 2021 that is later granted.

You must also meet one of these three criteria:

• You have lived in New Zealand for three or more years, which means you must have:
  • arrived in New Zealand on or before 29 September 2018, and
  • have spent a minimum of 821 days in New Zealand between 29 September 2018 and 29 September 2021.
• You earn at or above the median wage (NZD27 per hour)
• You work in a job on a scarce list:
  • Jobs on the Long Term Skill Shortage List
  • Jobs requiring occupational registration in the health or education sector
  • Personal carer and other critical health workers
  • Specified primary sector jobs

The New Zealand government may still consider you eligible to apply for the 2021 Resident Visa if you meet the criteria but you are in Australia and have been unable to return to New Zealand by 29 September 2021.

You must hold one of these 15 eligible visas

As stated above, you must hold an eligible visa on the 29th of September. The eligible visas are as follows:

• Post Study Work Visa
• Talent (Accredited Employer) Work Visa
• Essential Skills Work Visa
• Religious Worker Work Visa
• Talent (Arts, Culture, Sports) Work Visa
• Long Term Skill Shortage List Work Visa
• Silver Fern Practical Experience Work Visa
• Trafficking Victim Work Visa
• Migrant Exploitation Protection Work Visa
• Skilled Migration Category Job Search Work Visa
• Victims of Family Violence Work Visa
• South Island Contribution Work Visa
• Work Visa granted under section 61, provided you held another eligible visa type within six months before being granted a Section 61 visa
• Some Critical Purpose Visitor Visas:
  • Critical health workers for longer-term roles (6 months or longer)
  • Other critical workers for long term roles (more than 6 months)

Unfortunately, short-term visa holders are not eligible. These visa holders include visitors, students, working holiday makers, and seasonal workers like those on the Recognised Seasonal Employer Scheme or those who enter as short-term critical workers.

The application process will have two phases

The 2021 Resident visa will be open for applications in two phases, with the first group of people able to apply from 1 December 2021.

From 1 December 2021 you can apply if:

• You have already applied for residence under the Skilled Migrant and Residence from Work categories before 29 September 2021, or
• You have submitted a Skilled Migrant Category Expression of Interest, and have included your dependent child in the Expression of Interest aged 17 years or older on 29 September 2021.

From 1 March 2022, all other eligible applicants can apply, including all others who have submitted a Skilled Migrant Category Expression of Interest.

Immigration New Zealand will contact visa holders who are eligible to apply from 1 December by the end of October with more information about the application process.

What are your options if you don’t meet the criteria for the 2021 Resident Visa?

The New Zealand government has advised anyone in New Zealand who does not meet the criteria of the 2021 Resident Visa to look at what other resident pathways or temporary visa options may be available to them.

Please feel free to contact us in the event that you need assistance with extending your stay in New Zealand. Our advisors are registered and licensed to provide advice on all residency options for New Zealand.

Source: https://bit.ly/3ohsAzK

The New Zealand government has created several border exceptions in the past couple of months to allow skilled workers into the country.

The latest border exceptions are for six occupations ranging from horticultural mobile plant operators to sheep shearers.

Agricultural and Horticultural mobile plant operators

For the 2021/22 season, up to 125 agricultural and horticultural mobile plant operators can be nominated for assessment by New Zealand employers.

To be eligible for nomination, overseas workers must:

• have at least three seasons’ experience as agricultural or horticultural mobile plant operators,
• have the relevant vehicle licensing qualifications,
•  work under an approved contract agreement in a fulltime role with specified rural contract operators, and
• earn at or above the median wage per year.

Mixed and large animal veterinarians

Up to 30 veterinarians may enter New Zealand to work under the border exception created for this occupation. Vets must hold the qualifications and experience necessary for licensing and registration with the Veterinary Council of New Zealand  to qualify for this border exception.

Shearers

Up to 40 foreign shearers contracted by or through a New Zealand Shearers Contractor’s Association (NZSCA) employer and with more than two years’ experience will be able to travel to New Zealand to support the upcoming main shear season.

Deepwater fishing crew

The Ministry of Primary Industries (MPI) can nominate up to 615 deepwater fishing crew. To be eligible for a 12-month visa as a border exception, the crew must be paid at least the minimum wage plus NZ$4 per hour.

What other occupations have border exceptions?

New Zealand has also created border exceptions for teachers, healthcare workers, dairy farm workers and general practice veterinarians:

Teachers

Immigration New Zealand announced in July that it is going to create a border exception for 300 qualified teachers from overseas. The Ministry of Education will invite applications for these teachers from September.

Read more about the border exception for teachers on our blog.

Healthcare workers

New Zealand welcomes healthcare workers into the country to help in the fight against COVID-19. The border exception applies to:

• Registered health practitioners, including nurses, doctors and paramedics – this includes those working in hospitals, practices, and aged care facilities
• Internationally-qualified nurses, who still have to register in New Zealand
• Workers that operate and maintain medical equipment

You can find a complete list of occupations on Immigration New Zealand’s website under the Critical Health Workers heading.

Dairy farm managers and assistants

Up to 150 dairy farm managers and 50 dairy farm assistants will be able to travel to New Zealand to support the upcoming calving season.

You can read more about this exception on our blog.

General practice veterinarians

Up to 50 veterinarians will be able to enter and work in New Zealand. Click here to find out more about this exception.

Want to know when New Zealand creates more border exceptions?

While we can’t guarantee that New Zealand will create more border exceptions, we can promise that we’ll let you know if and when it happens. The easiest way to catch updates is to follow us on either Facebook or LinkedIn. We share news on our social media channels as soon it’s announced.

Education Minister Chris Hipkins announced on 3 July that 300 overseas qualified teachers will be able to enter New Zealand under a new class border exception.

Eligible teachers to get invitations from September

The overall outlook in New Zealand for domestic teachers supply remains positive but Early Childhood Education (ECE) services and schools continue to find certain locations and subjects difficult to recruit for.

It is for this reason that Immigration New Zealand decided to create a border exception for teachers. “This will give principals and services additional support, especially for 2022 recruitment, and complement existing teacher supply initiatives”, said Minister Hipkins.

The Ministry of Education will work with the education sector to ensure that the ECE services and schools with the greatest recruitment needs get priority. The Ministry will invite applications for these teachers from September.

The exception may also be open to teachers who worked in New Zealand but who had to leave the country and were unable to return to their job due to border closures.

INZ is also making family reunification possible

Immigration New Zealand is creating a family reunification border exception for the partners and dependent children of teachers who are already in New Zealand on temporary visas. These teachers will be able to request for their family to join them for the duration of their visa.

“A lot of families were separated when border restrictions were put in place to protect New Zealand from COVID-19 and we know this has been hard for them. We’re pleased we’re at last able to reunite teachers with their families”, said Minister Hipkins.

Contact us if you want to apply to teach or join a your teacher partner in New Zealand

Immigration New Zealand is still ironing out the finer details of the border exception but book a consultation with our licensed advisor in the meantime if you want to find out if you’re eligible to teach in New Zealand.

Our team can also help you and any children apply for the appropriate visas to join a partner in New Zealand who’s working there as a teacher.

Just want to stay up to date with immigration news out of New Zealand? Then we suggest joining our newsletter. You’ll get your newsletter once a month, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

The New Zealand Government has removed the start date criteria from the border exception for critical health workers. Medical professionals in New Zealand welcomed this decision.

What does this mean for health workers?

New Zealand has border restrictions in place to prevent the spread of COVID-19. There are some exceptions, though. The border exception for critical health workers is one.

The exception allows eligible candidates from overseas to enter New Zealand to work. However, this exception had a start date requirement. The requirement meant that new, approved employees had to start working for their New Zealand employer on or before 31 March 2021.

Now there is no start date requirement for critical health workers, which means the border exception is indefinite.

Please note, though, that health workers still must meet all of the other border exception requirements. Start dates are also still dependent on the availability of places in managed isolation and quarantine facilities.

What type of health workers are eligible?

The removal of the start date criteria applies to the likes of:

• Registered health practitioners, including nurses, doctors and paramedics – this includes those working in hospitals, practices, and aged care facilities
• Internationally-qualified nurses, who still have to register in New Zealand
• Workers that operate and maintain medical equipment

Please see the complete list of occupations on Immigration New Zealand under the Critical Health Workers heading. If you see your occupation, book a consultation call to find out if you’re eligible for a work visa.

Why was there an expiry date on the border exception in the first place?

The border exception for critical health workers was one of the first exceptions Immigration New Zealand put in place. The expiry dates allowed Immigration New Zealand to review the exception to ensure it was still required and that it was attracting the workers New Zealand’s health care system needs.

This is what the healthcare sector had to say

New Zealand Rural General Practice Network Chief Executive Dr. Grant Davidson welcomed Immigration New Zealand’s decision.

“Many of our rural practices rely on international doctors being able to enter the country to support their communities. About one-third of practices in rural areas have long-term vacancies and there aren’t enough doctors in New Zealand to fill these spots”, Davidson said. He continued, “Border restrictions have been disrupting our placement of essential health workers in jobs beyond March 2021. We are pleased this barrier has been removed.”

The Royal New Zealand College of General Practitioners also praised Immigration New Zealand for their decision.

College President Dr. Samantha Murton said, “This is a major win for our GP clinics across New Zealand who are struggling to recruit enough doctors. Now with greater certainty at the border, general practices can attract overseas-trained doctors – and get them here, meaning more patients seen by a doctor and releasing some of the tension on other struggling GPs.”

Stay up to date with other COVID-19 related changes

We expect to see immigration changes for as long as the COVID-19 pandemic is with us. Join our thousands of followers on Facebook and LinkedIn to stay in the know about future developments.

The COVID-19 pandemic pushed New Zealand’s economy into its worst recession in 33 years. Despite this, employment and career site SEEK recently reported that some industries are showing positive signs of growth compared to when the pandemic first hit.

SEEK found this when they collated data from July to August 2020 and compared it to data from March to April 2020. From this data, SEEK identified the top five industries in New Zealand for job ad growth at the moment as well as the 30 fastest-growing jobs in the country.

These were their findings:

1. Top five industries for job ad growth

Hospitality and tourism was one of the country’s hardest-hit industries, so it’s encouraging to see it in this top five. We think it’s safe to say that this performance is thanks to New Zealand’s swift COVID-19 response that has enabled the country to go back to ‘normal’ faster than just about every other nation in the world.

The 30 fastest-growing jobs

New Zealand recently had a federal election which explains the appearance of government advisor roles in the top spot. Storeperson roles, in at number three, are most likely on the rise due to changes in consumer behaviour. The COVID-19 pandemic has pushed many consumers to shopping online which means warehouses are busier than ever and in need of fast, efficient workers to get orders out the door.

But border restrictions are still in place, we hear you say

Yes, New Zealand’s border restrictions are still in place and still affect a lot of people. However, the fact that the job market is recovering is a positive sign of things to come. It means New Zealand’s economy and the country is a whole is starting to recover.

Another sure sign of this is the fact that New Zealand has already opened its borders to some critical workers. So, don’t put your dreams on hold! If you’re serious about moving to New Zealand, continue making it happen.

The New Zealand government has relaxed the criteria for some overseas workers to allow migrants with critical skills through the border. The purpose of the decision is to help the country recover from its COVID-19 economic downturn.

Primarily, the criteria now defines skills as ‘not readily available’ in New Zealand as opposed to ‘not available in New Zealand’, and the change came into effect on Friday, 11 September.

Skills now described as ‘not readily obtainable’ in New Zealand

The New Zealand government has removed the requirement that migrants in critical occupations have to have gained their skills, qualifications or work experience overseas.

As reported by Radio New Zealand (RNZ), Immigration Minister Kris Faafoi said “Removing that requirement will allow entry, in some limited cases, where, for example, a workers has skills which are obtainable in New Zealand but they have unique experience gained overseas which would bring unique expertise to New Zealand businesses.”

The wording in the Immigration Act ordinarily states that these workers have to have unique experience and technical specialist skills that are ‘not obtainable’ in New Zealand. This wording has now been changed to ‘not readily obtainable’ in New Zealand to reflect that temporary change in requirements.

Minister Faafoi said about this that the “…wording change reflects that, in some fields, there is a very limited pool of experts and significant training would have to be undertaken before the skills were obtainable in New Zealand.”

Critical workers who meet the requirements are referred to as ‘other critical workers’.

It’s still far from a ‘free for all’

While New Zealand is working towards economic recovery, the country also wants to limit its exposure to the coronavirus and prevent the spread of the virus. To this end, ’other critical workers’ will still have to meet strict standards and criteria despite the loosening of the skills requirement.

New Zealand also has a limited number of isolation facilities for migrants arriving from overseas. This further restricts how many workers would be able to come through the borders.

Here’s how the process works…

New Zealand employers must request for approval of ‘other critical workers’ to enter New Zealand. Unfortunately, it is not possible for migrants to submit the request.

Further to this, employers can apply to bring employees to New Zealand under two categories:

• Short-term critical workers – staff needed for less than 6 months in total
• Long-term critical workers – staff needed for more than 6 months

Each of these categories has its own criteria:

Short-term critical workers

Workers coming to New Zealand for a short-term role, i.e. to fill a position for less than 6 months, must:

• Have unique experience and technical or specialists skills that are not readily obtainable in New Zealand, or
• Undertake a time-critical role for:
  • The delivery of an approved major infrastructure project, or a government approved event or a major government-approved programme
  • An approved government-to-government agreement
• Work that brings significant wider benefit to the national or regional economy

Examples of short-term critical workers

Immigration New Zealand has given examples of roles that may meet the short-term worker requirements. These examples include highly specialist veterinarians, vendor-appointed engineers required to install major equipment or an actor in a key film role.

Long-term critical workers

Workers coming to New Zealand to fill a long-term role, i.e. for 6 months or longer, must:

• Earn at least twice the median salary (NZD$106,080 a year), or
• Have a role that is essential for the completion or continuation of a science programme under a government funded or partially government-funded contract including research and development exchanges and partnerships, and has the support of the Science, Innovation and International Branch at MBIE to travel to New Zealand to carry out their work, or
• Be undertaking a role that is essential for the delivery or execution of:
  • a government-approved event, or
  • major government-approved programme, or
  • approved major infrastructure project.

You can find events, project and programmes that have already been approved on Immigration New Zealand.

What happens once the employer has made the request?

Immigration New Zealand will review each request on its own merits and may seek advice from the appropriate government agencies. At the moment, most requests for ‘other critical workers’ receive an outcome within two weeks.

In the case of successful requests, INZ will contact the workers whose employers get approval for an exception to the border restrictions and invite the workers to apply for a Critical Purpose Visitor Visa or a Critical Purpose Variation of Conditions to allow them to travel to New Zealand.

Workers will get instructions from INZ on how to apply for either of these visas. Workers will also have to pay the immigration fee and levies, if applicable, as part of their application.

Follow us to stay up to date with further developments

New Zealand has made a couple of immigration changes in September, including the resumption of off-shore visa application processing and visa extensions for certain residents.

It is safe to assume that more changes will be announced in future as the coronavirus pandemic subsides.

To be the first to know about any changes, simply follow us on Facebook or LinkedIn. If you’re not much of a social media person, you can also sign up for our newsletter that goes out monthly.

You’ll not only get visa news but also tips for your immigration and information about life in New Zealand.