On 15 January this year Immigration New Zealand (INZ) raised the thresholds for Essential Skills work visa and Skilled Migrant residency visa applications. The increases are small, and result from changes in the median income levels in New Zealand. In September 2017, Statistics New Zealand announced that the average earnings from salaries and wages had…
Employers Of Migrants Face A Ban For Breaches Of Employment Law
The Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) now has powers to apply stand down periods on employer incurs penalties relating to employment standards. These powers are there to protect migrant workers from exploitation. This group of employees enjoy the same legal protection as domestic workers but are more vulnerable due to the reliance on…
Skilled Migrant Category Now Has An Extra Hurdle
The skilled migrant category changes bring an income threshold for applications under the Skilled Migrant residence category. For a role to be considered skilled, it must have a salary that matches the New Zealand median income of $48,859 a year. This change has allowed Immigration New Zealand to recognise that some jobs that might not…
It’s Now More Difficult To Get A Work Visa
Recent rule changes to the Essential Skills Work Visa category have added new barriers to overcome in order an application approved. The biggest change is the introduction of salary bands, which are determined by the Australian and New Zealand Standard Classification of Occupations (ANZSCO). These salary bands bring with them varying privileges including the length…