Visa extension ‘good news’ for migrants

Migrants stranded in Marlborough by Covid-19 were given good news yesterday, with immigration officials confirming some temporary visas would be extended.

A pop-up immigration clinic at Blenheim’s House of Travel provided free advice to visa holders whose plans had been impacted by coronavirus. They had seen about 40 people by noon.

This week, the Government announced a six-month extension to employer-assisted temporary work visas due to expire this year, but many visa holders were unsure if this applied to them.

Italian wine industry worker Roberta Di Marco was on an essential skills visa due to expire later this month, and she hoped she qualified for the six-month visa extension.

‘‘I’m just here to check that it’s true and it’s happening,’’ Di Marco said.

She had been in New Zealand on and off since 2016, working with multiple companies, and had a partner here. Currently pruning in the wine industry, she said international workers would be essential for harvest 2021, and she was not concerned about finding work.

‘‘I’m pretty sure wineries will need international workers for next harvest if the borders are closed. I don’t think there are enough Kiwis to cover all that amount of work.’’

Elisabeth Moore was on a working holiday visa due to expire in August and did not qualify for the September extension.

‘‘I’m from Hawaii, so I’m not going back to a bad place if I have to go back, but I’d like to stay here longer,’’ she said.

Last month a meeting was held in Blenheim in which hundreds of temporary workers were told via

Zoom by immigration officials to leave the country.

Straight Up NZ Immigration director Megan Rosene, who jointled the clinic with Custom Immigration Consulting and House of Travel, said most of the people they had seen yesterday qualified for the six-month extension.

Many workers in Marlborough who worked through harvest 2020 were on an essential skills visa, which was extended until September 25 earlier this year.

Government announcements this week extended these visas a further six months, but did not help those who had finished employment, as the visa conditions tied them to one employer.

Rosene said many visa holders had questions about what to do if they had lost their jobs.

Rosene said it was best for people in this situation to stay on the same visa, rather than change to a visitor visa, on the chance they could be rehired.

‘‘A lot of the time an employer will make someone redundant, and then they’ll get busy again, and they’ll need that skill back – they can actually re-employ that person under the same visa,’’ she said.

It was possible some wineries would want to take one staff on throughout the year to ensure they would have enough for next year’s harvest. Support was available through Red Cross for people who were unemployed or struggling, she said.