The status of immigration to New Zealand like many other countries has created a large amount of uncertainty for people who are still interested in migrating to the country. Prior to Covid – 19 there were a significant number of pathways for people to enter NZ to work and then move through the process of obtaining residency status.
Alongside the impact of Covid -19, the New Zealand government has also taken the opportunity to investigate a “reset” of immigration. The primary reasons given for this has been the desire to reduce exploitation of migrants in New Zealand through poor employment conditions and the desire to match more appropriately people to the skills that are in short supply.
In addition to this the Government has also wanted to further promote the development and training of existing New Zealanders to fill the skills requirements of the country going forward. The “immigration reset” will place more emphasis on Employers to employ or train New Zealanders and to prove that a real effort has been made to do this before there is an opportunity to employ overseas candidates.
The impact of Covid - 19 has created a large pool of people who are in the process of applying to work in New Zealand or to gain residency. To deal with this Immigration New Zealand has boldly announced the creation of the 2021 Residency Visa and this will provide up to 165,00 migrants the certainty of New Zealand residency over the next 12 – 18 months.
Once this group of residency applications is settled, it appears that Immigration New Zealand will continue with the “immigration reset" to deal with the future migration demand. What this really means should become clearer in the first half of 2022.
To investigate your options for migrating to New Zealand we suggest you visit the Immigration New Zealand website where there is a constant supply of information around the impact of Covid – 19 and the ongoing changes.
One way of exploring your options is to use the Skill Shortage list checker. This tool will provide the possible pathways for getting a work or residence visa in New Zealand based on the skills you have and the skills our country needs.
We will continue to update you on any changes happening to jobs and your work options as we move out of the restrictions of Covid - 19 and beyond.
Please note we are not a registered Immigration advisor and therefore are not able to provide specific immigration advice to individuals. If you want some specific advice, you can click here.
We wish you all the best on your migration journey.