New Zealand's immigration minister, Erica Standford, yesterday announced the latest rules on the Employer Certified Work Permit (AEWV), adding new rules including English language requirements.
Today, she further stated that New Zealand will be in a state of tightening immigration for the next period of time.
01 The tightening of immigration is ironclad this year, but "it may only be temporary" measures
Speaking to the media this morning, the Minister of Immigration referred to the latest tightening of immigration policies.
In the interview, the Minister of Immigration mentioned the underlying logic of this kind of policy - take it when you see it.
"Last year another 20,000 people applied for benefits, but at the same time we brought in 52,000 low-skilled workers, and those numbers don't match, and we want to make sure that New Zealanders are ranked first. ”
Photo: RNZ
There are 173,000 non-citizen migrants in New Zealand in 2023, and the immigration minister said the new policy will make the labour market more focused on finding locals first, while also attracting high-skilled migrants.
PNP Propaganda Map: "Prioritizing the Employment of Locals"
The embodiment of this in the policy is that English requirements have been added to low-skilled positions at level 4~5, and the visa period has been shortened from 5 years to 3 years.
In addition to the number of people, the position will also be adjusted according to the reality:
The previous plan to add 11 occupations to the green list, including welders, assemblers and lathe workers, has been scrapped, and the easier way to apply for residency for bus and truck drivers will be closed because "the shortage has been resolved".
Overall, the current policy is to close the faucet for immigration.
But next year, Standford said, could be quite the opposite, depending on the economy.
02 AEWV has been tightened today, and low-skilled occupations have the greatest impact
Let's take a look back at the specific aspects of the AEWV work permit adjustment announced yesterday.
To sum it simply: work experience and English are more demanding, and some work permits are shorter.
English Language Requirements:
Low-skilled immigrants on ANZSCO Level 4 and Level 5 need to meet the standards of IELTS minimum score of 4 and TOEFL minimum score of 31, as follows:
Previous data showed that a large proportion of migrant workers entered the construction industry in 2023.
Some people in the construction industry said that after the introduction of the new policy, the impact on work permit applicants for low-skilled jobs in the industry (such as bricklayers/carpenters, etc.) is expected to be the greatest, and many related jobs need to pass the language pass before applying.
Experience & Skills Required:
AEWV applicants are required to demonstrate a minimum of 3 years' relevant work experience or a relevant qualification at NZQCF Level 4 or above.
If the qualification is lower than undergraduate level, the International Qualifications Assessment (IQA) must be attached.
Change of Work Permit Duration:
For Tier 4 and Tier 5 jobs with wages at or above the AEWV minimum wage, the AEWV work permit period will be shortened to two years, renewable for one year after passing the new job check.
The maximum length of stay on a single or multiple AEWVs will be reduced to 3 years, meaning that when a work permit holder has completed their visa in New Zealand, they will need to leave New Zealand for a period of time (usually 12 months) before they can apply for AEWV again.
Who is affected:
The above changes are effective immediately and will affect those who apply for the AEWV on or after 7 April 2024, or before 21 June 2023.
However, some ANZSCO Levels 4 and 5 positions will be exempted, including:
- Positions on the Green List
- Pathway to Resident positions in the Transportation and Care Sector Agreement
- Positions with an income of 1.5 times the median salary
- The AEWV period and maximum continuous stay for ANZSCO Levels 1 to 3 positions will be maintained for 5 years.
Adjustment of Immigration Positions:
On 8 April 2024, six new positions were added to the Green List, five of which are Straight to Residence, including: Aeronautical Engineer (avionics, aeronautics, aerospace engineer), Naval Architect (Ship Designer), ICT Database and System Administrator, Mechanical Engineering Technician and Aircraft Maintenance Engineer.
One of them is the work to resident: correctional officers.
Bus drivers and truck drivers who apply for AEWV from 7 April 2024 will no longer be eligible to apply for the work-to-residence route, but those who already hold an AEWV and have applied for AEWV and have been approved can still apply for residency here.
In addition, the following positions will not be added to the Green List: Paving Equipment Operator, Metalworking Worker, Welder, Wolder, Fitter (General), Fitter and Lathe, Clamp Wolder, Metal Mechanic (Level 1), Auto Mechanic, Car Painter, Road Roller Operator.
Employer Adjustments:
Under the new rules, employers are required to take reasonable steps to ensure that migrant workers meet the skills requirements and are employed for at least 30 hours per week, otherwise the employer certification will be revoked.
Employers who employ Tier 4 and Tier 5 migrant workers are now required to advertise for 21 days (up from 14 days) and contact Work and Income before a job check to explain why they are not employing New Zealanders.
03 The Immigration Bureau issued a fine on April 11 and directly suspended the eligibility of the illegal employer sponsorship
Just like as a supporting policy, Immigration New Zealand will be able to directly issue fines to employers who violate the certification standard from April 11 (this Thursday) to address violations in low-skilled immigration.
Penalties for non-compliance include:
- Minimum fine of NZ$1,000;
- Temporary loss of Certified Employer or Certified Seasonal Employer status (stood-down) and not being able to sponsor a migrant worker visa application for a certain period of time (depending on the number of violations);
- More serious violations can trigger criminal charges.
According to USCIS, a stood-down is an employer's inability to reinstate their certification or sponsor a new visa application during this period, and the suspension period includes:
- Suspension of a single violation notice for 6 months;
- Each additional notice of violation is suspended for an additional 6 months;
- Multiple breach notices issued at once are suspended for up to 12 months.
Employers can continue to employ immigrants on an open work visa during this period, and at the end of the period, employers must prove that they have corrected the problem and taken the necessary steps to prevent it from happening again in order to be re-AEWV.
The USCIS said that in the past, they could only prosecute employers who violated the law through the criminal court system, but now the new rules will give them more initiative to issue penalties directly to non-compliant employers in a more timely manner.