Amendment to the Immigration New Zealand Operational Manual

Immigration New Zealand (“INZ”) has recently announced a number of changes to its policy manual. The policies subject to the amendment include Recognised Seasonal Employers, study visas, working holiday schemes with a number of countries, and skilled migrant policy.

Recognised Seasonal Employers

The changes introduced include:

• The annual cap of permits available under the Recognised Seasonal Employer (“RSE”) increases from 5,000 to 8,000 (effective 9 November 2008);

• The requirement for RSE to disclose all payments received from RSE workers;

• The responsibility for daily work output and supervision to be shared between RSEs if the employee does work for more than one RSE (subject to certain conditions);

• An RSE limited purpose permit holder may transfer from one RSE to another, providing that the RSE and terms of employment meet certain criteria.
  

Student Visas and Permits

A visa equating the length of a course of study will be issued only if the education provider provides evidential support.

Working Holiday Visas

• A Brazil Working Holiday Scheme is established, allowing up to 300 young Brazilian citizens to be issued with a work visa and work permit of up to 12 months;

• The annual places available under the Korean Working Holiday Scheme are increased to 1,800;

• The annual places available under the Czech Republic Working Holiday Scheme are increased to 1,200.
  

Skilled Migrant

• The English requirements under Skilled Migrant Policy 5.5 are amended. The International English Language Testing System (IELTS) certificate is now the default requirement for meeting the minimum standard of English. Factors such as recognised qualifications, skilled employment and others have become discretionary matters to be considered on a case-by-case basis. This alters the previous status quo where possessing a recognised qualification or 12 months of skilled employment was deemed to have met the English requirement.

• When assessing whether employment is skilled, applicants with Skill Level One Occupations can substitute the required qualification with five years of relevant experience.

• INZ officers may consider the comparability of the remuneration offered against the market rate when assessing:
  • whether the employment is skilled under SM 7.15;
  • whether the employment may create an unacceptable risk to the integrity of New Zealand’s immigration and employment policies.

For more information, please contact:

Ian McCombe
Partner
t: +64 9 979 2159
e: Ian McCombe

Click here for pdf copy.

Last updated: 4 March 2009