New ‘fast-track’ to residency
The Government has announced a major rebalancing of the immigration system, aimed at making it easier for some migrants to get residency – if they are paid well.
Immigration Minister Kris Faafoi announced the changes in a speech to BusinessNZ on Wednesday afternoon, where the prime minister also brought forward full reopening dates to July 31.
He said New Zealand would not return to relying on lowskilled and low-paid migrants.
‘‘New Zealand cannot return to pre-pandemic trends that saw us overly reliant on growing numbers of lower-skilled workers and resulted in the increased exploitation of migrants,’’ Faafoi said.
The changes will mean those wishing to hire migrants for most roles will need to pay them the median wage – currently $27.76 an hour.
There will be some exemptions to this pay requirement, but those will still have to pay far more than the minimum wage of $21.20.
None of the changes affect current visa holders, and existing work visa holders and their families will get a six-month extension.
The changes include a new process for accredited employers to get skilled migrants into New Zealand and get them residency immediately.
Employers will not need to advertise locally for the jobs and the migrants will be eligible to immediately gain residence, rather than needing to work for a period of time before gaining residence.
This ‘‘green list’’ features a range of jobs including engineers, psychiatrists, doctors, vets and tech workers.
But these all need to be paid a minimum salary, which will be pegged to the median wage – with higher pay for some roles.
A separate list of occupations will see migrants able to get residence after two years. This list includes nurses, teachers and midwives.
All migrants paid at least twice the median wage ($115,480) will be able to apply for residency after two years.
Not all migrants will need to be paid the median wage, however, with hospitality and tourism employers temporarily being exempted. Instead, those looking to hire people for various roles in these professions will need to pay at least $25 an hour.
Those in the care workforce will also have a lower pay threshold of $25.39 an hour.
Migrant chefs will need a qualification.
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said the changes would ensure that businesses who needed skilled labour they could not find onshore could operate.
‘‘We know a major constraint on business is access to skilled labour. This plan will increase the available pool of labour, while also speeding up our tourism recovery.’’
Faafoi said the plan was largely to grow skills in New Zealand, however.
‘‘Our plan is to grow skills at home. Over the past two years, over 190,000 New Zealanders have benefited from Government investment in trades training, including apprenticeships.’’