Border opening announcements

The latest border announcements have signalled the following in terms of when the border will reopen to certain international arrivals:

Key dates: 13 April – Australian citizens, 1 May – visa waiver nationals and October – non visa waiver nationals

What we don’t know is whether the NZ border will be open for all visa categories and if and when INZ is to open up visa processing. INZ will be opened up for processing for visa waiver nationals, to facilitate arrivals from 1 May. 

The NZ border is opening up, so now is time to start sourcing your international talent.

Other Critical Worker border exception

This new category represents a significant milestone and means that employers can now bring in highly paid talent, without needing to demonstrate that the candidate has unique experience and technical or specialist skills that is not readily obtainable in New Zealand. 

The requirements for this exception are: That the person is required to stay in New Zealand for more than 6 months to achieve their critical purpose; and That they are in a role for which they will earn at least 1.5 times the median wage ($84,240 p.a. or $40.50 p/hr).

If these applicants also earn more than $106,080 p.a. ($51 p/hr) they should be eligible to apply for residence under the one-off 2021 Residence Visa, provided they can make their first entry to New Zealand and lodge that application before the category closes on 31 July 2022.

Accredited Employer Work Visa

INZ have released further detail on the Accredited Employer Work Visa (AEWV) system in effect from 4 July 2022. 

Minimum pay threshold. The median wage will increase from $27 p/hr to $27.76 p/hr on 4 July 2022. Employers will only be able to secure work visas for employees who are paid at least the new median wage of $27.76 p/hr ($57,740.80 pa)

The Government is also currently considering whether there may be roles/industries where an exemption should be applied to the minimum pay threshold.

Accreditation. High volume accredited employers (6+ migrant workers) no longer are required to pay at least 10% above minimum wage or be covered by a collective agreement. The new median wage threshold now applies to all applications. 

There will be additional accreditation requirements to be met for employers who are franchisees or who place AEWV holders via ‘triangular employment’. (Labour Hire)

Job Check (Labour Market Testing)

If the job is paid at least 200% of median wage ($115,481.60 p.a. or $55.52 p/hr) no advertising is required.

For all other jobs paying below these thresholds, the advertising requirements will be the same, irrespective of the location or nature of the role. 

A job check can cover multiple positions, provided that the job details are the same and are all covered by the same advertising and proposed employment agreement.

Application fees

The new system’s fees are an increase in the financial burden that an employer needs to bear. 

Accreditation - Employer Pays

Standard – $740
High volume – $1,220
Triangular – $3,870
Franchisee – $1,980

Job Check - Employer Pays - $610

Migrant Check - Migrant Pays– $540 & Immigration Levy $55

Implementation dates

23 May 2022  Employers able to apply for accreditation

20 June 2022 Accredited Employers can submit a Job Check

4 July 2022    Migrants can apply for an AEWV (if Accreditation and Job Check stages are completed)

Conclusion

Those employers who have previously relied on migrant labour for lower skilled / lower paid roles will be able to use working holiday visa holders, student visa holders who can work up to 20 hours per week, post study work visa holders.

Industries such as tourism, hospitality and retail are likely to find these new rules very challenging. 

The Governments desire to reduce NZ Employers reliance on a low skilled & low paid workforce has taken place, due to NZ’s border closure.

NZ Companies now need to rebuild with a reduced reliance on migrants.

If you have any questions about this information please don’t hesitate to contact me to discuss things further. 

- Steve Baker