Doors open for critical workers, spouses and dependent children from overseas
Venkat Raman
Auckland, September 30, 2021
Judging by the deluge of press releases and letters of appreciation from businesses, professional organisations, immigration advisors and cross-sections of communities coming in since early this morning, the Labour government in general and Immigration Minister Kris Faafoi have received accolades from the migrant communities and those awaiting for their families to join them from overseas.
Mr Faafoi gave further clarifications to the Pathway to Residency Scheme that he announced early this morning. Please read the story here.
While most of the migrant workers already in New Zealand who satisfy the eligibility criteria (which include, among others, completion of at least three years of legal stay or in employment at least $27 per hour as wages or belong to the critical or shortage skill sector) will be cleared the pathway to residency, the good news is that their partners or spouses and dependent children (resident in New Zealand or overseas) will also be eligible to residency.
Likewise, partners and dependent children of New Zealand citizens and residents can also join them from overseas.
Wide range of workers and families
Mr Faafoi said that according to Immigration New Zealand (INZ) estimates, more than 110,000 migrant workers who are in New Zealand may be eligible to apply under the new, one-off Residence Visa Programme.
“Including partners and dependent children, the total number of residence visas that are expected to be issued would be about 165,000. This is the biggest immigration exercise undertaken by any government at any time. We hope that our decision will bring certainty to migrants and their families. Employers will also benefit as they can be assured of workers they need in their business,” he said.
There is a large number of temporary migrants on relevant visas working across a range of sectors who may be eligible for the 2021 Resident Visa Programme, including around 10,000 in the healthcare and social assistance sector, 9000 in agriculture, forestry and fishing, 15,000 in construction, 9000 in professional, scientific and technical services, 17000 in the accommodation and food sectors, 12,000 in manufacturing, 10,000 in administration and support services, and 10,000 in retail. While not all of these visa holders will be eligible for this one-off pathway to residence, a large number may qualify by meeting the three-year or median wage criteria.
The facility is not available for international students, overstayers, those on visitor or tourist visas and people on temporary visas stranded overseas.
Who can come to New Zealand
Although the borders are still closed, the Residence Visa Programme 2021 will allow manufacturers, construction companies, and employers in need of critical workers including age-care, healthcare and others considered critical) will be allowed to arrive in New Zealand. They will be subject to the travel and quarantine regulations.
Mr Faafoi warned that the Residency Programme provides the pathway for migrant workers to become permanent residents, but there is no guarantee that everyone will qualify.
“All applicants must satisfy security, police and other checks and approvals to join the Residence Queue. Applications for the 2021 Resident Visa will be accepted from December 1, 2021 to July 31, 2022 in two phases: From December 1, 2021, people who have submitted a Skilled Migrant Category (SMC) or Residence from Work (RfW) application can apply, as well as those with dependent children 17 years or older who currently have an SMC Expression of Interest (EOI) submitted. All other eligible applicants, including any others in the SMC Expression of Interest pool, can apply from March 1, 2022,” he said.
Simplified Process
Mr Faafoi said that INZ will invite all eligible migrant workers by the end of October 2021 to apply for the Residence Visa Programme, which will open on December 1, 2021. The second tranche of applications will be open from March 1, 2022 and the Programme is expected to be concluded by December 2022.
“All applications will be considered online and we hope to have additional staff to cope with the workload. The application process has been simplified to complete the Residency Visa Programme,” he said.
An eligibility checker is available on INZ’s website. The checker is only a guide and not a confirmation of eligibility.
