Changes to work visas

The Government is bringing in changes to the work visa scheme rolled out after the Covid-19 pandemic, following a review that found leadership failures and risk of abuse in the scheme.

Immigration Minister Erica Stanford is introducing an English language requirement for low-skilled roles in level four and five of the accredited employer work visa (AEWV) and reducing the stay for most of those roles from five years to three. She is also bringing in minimum skill and work experience for most roles and will require employers to get in touch with Work and Income before granting the visa for low-skilled roles.

“By having an English language requirement migrants will be better able to understand their rights or raise concerns about an employer early,” Stanford said.

The AEWV was introduced mid-2022, as the country faced work force shortages, to speed up the system by inviting employers wanting to hire overseas staff to apply for accreditation. The visa was put under urgent review last year, prompted by numerous cases such as the discovery of 115 Indian and Bangladeshi migrants crammed into six houses who had found no jobs when they arrived.

Stanford said the Government was also scrapping plans to add 11 roles to the Green List “such as welders and fitters and turners”, and was closing the work-to-residence pathway for bus and truck drivers.

On the report’s release, Green Party immigration spokesperson Ricardo Menéndez March said: “Decoupling work visas from single employers so workers can leave exploitative employers, as well as default union membership for migrant workers will strengthen the rights of people coming to Aotearoa.”