Wellington:

Amid persistent labour market shortages, New Zealand has introduced significant updates to its visa and employment requirements to streamline immigration procedures. The changes are aimed at simplifying immigration pathways for both employees and employers with adjustments to work experience criteria, wage adjustment and visa durations.  

To overcome the storage of labour, the New Zealand government has lowered the criterion for work experience for migrants from three to two years. The move will allow competent workers to find employment more easily in New Zealand while still meeting the requirements for their positions. The new rules are expected to help Indian migrants seeking job opportunities in New Zealand.

The country has also introduced two new pathways for seasonal workers to stay in New Zealand–a three-year multi-entry visa for experienced seasonal workers and a seven-month single-entry visa for lower-skilled workers. These pathways are made to accommodate seasonal labour demands.

Moreover, the median pay criteria for the Accredited Employer Work Visa (AEWV) and Specific Purpose Work Visa (SPWV) have been removed by the government. Under the new rules, though employers are obliged to post job opportunities and offer salaries as per market rate for the role and location, they are no longer needed to meet a predetermined salary criterion. This allows employers freedom while maintaining equitable worker remuneration.

For migrants wanting to bring their children to New Zealand, AEWV holders must now earn at least NZ$55,844 annually. This minimum threshold, which has not been changed since 2019, is intended to ensure that migrant families can sustain themselves financially while living in the country.

Further, New Zealand has extended the two-year visa period to three years for jobs which fall within the Australian and New Zealand Standard Classification of Occupations (ANZSCO) skill levels 4 or 5. The current employees in these jobs with a two-year visa, who fulfil the requirements, may seek a one-year extension.

Employers are also now not required to follow Work and Income’s 21-day mandated recruitment period when posting job openings for skill level 4 or 5. They only have to advertise and interview qualified applicants to show that they are making an attempt to hire locally.

The government has also reduced the domestic workforce criterion for some roles from 35 per cent to 15 per cent in order to address labour shortages in the construction industry, making it easier for companies in this area to fill openings.

From this year, employers who are accredited,  are also not required to complete the online training modules provided by Employment New Zealand. Instead, Immigration New Zealand will offer easily accessible resources on employment rights and responsibilities.

From April 2025, migrants who want to transition from a student visa or any other work to AEWV will be given interim work rights.

In a move that will benefit Indian students pursuing higher education in New Zealand, Wellington has modified the Post Study Work Visa (PSWV), permitting students to stay and work for up to three years in the country, depending on their qualifications. The new rules will ensure that students who complete a Master’s degree following a Postgraduate Diploma do not lose eligibility for a Post Study Work Visa.

New Zealand said on April 7 that it was making immediate changes to its employment visa program after a near-record migration last year which it said was “unsustainable”.

The changes include measures such as introducing English language requirement for low skilled jobs and setting a minimum skills and work experience threshold for most employer work visas. The maximum continuous stay for most low skilled roles will also be reduced to three years from five years.

“The Government is focused on attracting and retaining the highly skilled migrants such as secondary teachers, where there is a skill shortage,” Immigration Minister Erica Stanford said in a statement.

“At the same time we need to ensure that New Zealanders are put to the front of the line for jobs where there are no skills shortages,” she said.

Last year, a near record 173,000 people migrated to New Zealand, the statement said.

New Zealand, which has a population of about 5.1 million, has seen a rapid growth in its migrant numbers since the end of the pandemic, raising concerns last year that it was fanning inflation.

Neighbouring Australia, which has also seen a big jump in migrants, has said it would halve its migrant intake over the next two years.

A man “miraculously” survived a fall of 600 meters (approximately 2,000 feet) with only minor injuries after tumbling down the side of a mountain in New Zealand. According to the BBC, the incident took place on Mount Taranaki, on the west coast of New Zealand’s North Island, on Saturday. Police said that the climber, whose identity hasn’t been revealed, was saved by warmer-than-usual weather which softened the ice and helped to break the man’s fall. 

The distance of the man’s fall is believed to be equivalent to some of the world’s tallest buildings and roughly double the height of the Eiffel Tower in Paris. The police said the climber is “exceptionally lucky to be alive,” as per the BBC. 

“These are challenging areas and when things go wrong there are often serious consequences. Climbing on Mount Taranaki requires experience, knowledge and properly fitted and correct equipment. Failing to be properly equipped could result in a very different ending to Saturday’s story,” the cops added. 

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According to the police, the climber was part of a group scaling Mount Taranaki and he fell at around midday on Saturday. “Having watched their fellow climber slide down the mountain and out of view, another member of the group climbed down to try and locate them,” said the police.

A member of the Taranaki Alpine Rescue also happened to be in the area at the time and helped locate the fallen man. The climber was found with minor injuries, with his ice axe and crampons mission, according to SkyNews. This part of the mountain is particularly dangerous, police said.

The BBC reported that Mount Taranaki has a reputation as one of the deadliest mountains in New Zealand. A few years back, two climbers had also fallen to their deaths from the same spot from which the man plunged at the weekend.