03 July 2009

New Zealand makes visa and immigration policy changes

Coming into effect later this month, the New Zealand Government has announced a number of changes to their visa and immigration policy.

The key New Zealand visa and immigration changes will come into effect on July 27, include:

• A new policy called Supplementary Seasonal Employment (SSE) has been established and replaces the Transitioning to Recognised Seasonal Employer (TRSE) policy. Some RSE changes have resulted from the introduction of SSE policy. For more detailed information on these changes see ‘latest news’ item: ‘New seasonal work policy for horticulture and viticulture businesses and amendments to Recognised Seasonal Employer policy’.
• A special Visitor policy has been introduced for work permit holders who have received a dismissal notice within the 90-day trial period.
  Essential Skills work policy has been amended to limit the visa and permit length to one year for lower skilled workers. Additionally a note has been added to state that self-employment does not meet the Essential Skills policy objectives.
• All New Zealand working holiday visa holders may now undertake more than one course of study, which must not exceed three months in total during their stay in New Zealand. Working holidaymakers from Canada, Germany, Japan, the United Kingdom and Taiwan may study more than one course not exceeding six months in total.
• Changes have been made to Appendix 11 – List of Skilled Occupations and Appendix 6 – Long Term Skill Shortage List to align them with the revised version of the Australian and New Zealand Standard Classification of occupations (ANZSCO). These changes include the: addition of new occupations, addition of specialisations within occupations, occupation title changes, occupation scope changes, and merging of occupations.

A minor amendment has been made to Skilled Migrant policy to remove references to probationary registration for medical practitioners.

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The New Zealand Visa Bureau is an independent consulting company specialising in helping people with New Zealand visas and emigration.