Venkat Raman
Auckland, December 11, 2022
Simultaneous opening of the Accredited Employer Work Visa system, Skilled Migrant Category, Parent and Grandparent Visas, increasing applications from international students and a high volume of visitor visa applications have all contributed to the overload of the immigration system, which is now being streamlined, Immigration Minister Michael Wood has said.
“These coincided with the re-opening of borders in July this year and the ongoing ‘One-off Pathway to Residency’ to more than 165,000 people resident in New Zealand. In addition, we have a new processing system,” he said.
Mr Wood was participating in the monthly discussion programme hosted by Indians Living in Auckland Facebook Discussion Group jointly with Indian Newslink on December 10, 2022.
He said that while there are no immediate plans to reopen immigration offices in major cities such as Delhi, Mumbai, Beijing, Singapore and other sectors, the onshore system has been strengthened with additional staff.
“We would like our immigration settings to be as flexible and as quick as possible. Our system has been stretched and new officers have been recruited. We now have adequate staff to manage the workload. We are experiencing huge volumes of Work and Visitor Visa applications. The backlog has now dropped to about 31,000 applications. We are prioritising older cases. Applications will be cleared but the outcome will depend on whether all required information has been provided,” he said.
Stranded migrant workers
Mr Wood said that migrant workers who are stranded in India and other places have now an opportunity to come to New Zealand since the reopening of borders.
“We understand the difficulties faced by some people offshore. While it is not easy to undo the past, qualified migrant workers can seek through the normal process. However, I am now addressing the post-study work rights of people. They would have had access to these rights before the closure of borders. This is a matter of concern and I hope to provide some certainty to this group before the end of this year,” he said.
Mr Wood said that more than 100,000 people were granted residence permits this year and that cases that generate public interest are considered under ministerial discretion.
The Hungarian Family Case
He referred to the recent case of a Hungarian migrant family who received their PR under a special discretion granted by Associate Immigration Minister Phil Twyford.
“If we want a fair system of immigration with a high level of integrity, then people must comply with the rules and regulations. They should be aware of the criteria that will qualify them for Residence and other types of Visas. Thousands of people go through this process and a few cases such as the Hungarian family do not comply with the Immigration rules. They are supported by the community and in such cases, depending on the circumstances, the Associate Minister has the authority to intervene and take a decision. The Hungarian applicant exercised their rights to appeal and in this case, it was favourable to the applicant. This shows that the system is working,” he said.
Addressing Skills Shortage
Mr Wood said that New Zealand is not alone in facing a skills shortage and that almost all developed countries including Australia are not able to find enough workers.
“There are a number of factors contributing to this phenomenon. They include (1) low employment and easy access to work (2) Workers are more demanding and are able to shift to companies where there are better pay and working conditions (3) Many people are still not confident about travelling overseas, and hence the international labour market remains somewhat cold and sticky. Even Immigration New Zealand has found it challenging to recruit the right talent to work at its offices,” he said.
Mr Wood recounted the measures being taken to address the worker shortage in the market.
“We have opened up the border for all temporary visa applicants. We have issued more than 85,000 job checks under the Accredited Employer Work Visa System. It however takes time for employers to seek and interview people. About 30,000 applications have been received of which 15,000 have been approved. We have also increased the number of people who can arrive in New Zealand under the Working Holiday Visa. We have expanded other areas as well to help ease the labour shortage,” he said.
Mr Wood said that his government will not go back to the earlier system which encouraged low-wage labour leading to worker exploitation.
“However, there is a built-in flexibility under the Accredited Employer Work Visa system. Employers will be able to bring in workers in some sectors including hospitality on a slightly lower median wage. The same applies to people on Working Holiday Visas,” he said.
Mr Wood said that exploitation of migrant workers is a ‘real problem’ and that some of the ‘horrific stories and reports’ that he has heard will make anyone ashamed that such ‘terrible things’ happen in New Zealand.
“We should never treat people who come to our country to work badly. There are real, horrible cases that come through our Employment Relations Authority and are published for public reading. This has been going on for some time and we must stop this. I am determined to lift the cover, shine the light, show leadership and make sure that there are measures in place. The measures include changes in the immigration setting, the newly created migrant exploitation visa, and the legislation that Associate Minister for Social Development and Employment and Workplace Relations and Safety Priyanca Radhakrishnan is taking to Parliament. The reason why we have not been able to get correct statistics is that victims have not been reporting in the past due to fear of losing their visas. The new Migrant Exploitation Visa ensures protection to such people,” he said and appealed to the community to assist the government in ending the exploitation of migrant workers.
Although he was averse to providing ‘Job Search Visas’ which will allow migrants to come to New Zealand, Mr Wood was positive that the new pathway will be attractive.
He said that people who are highly skilled (such as medical professionals) will have the opportunity to come to New Zealand quickly and then become residents within two years. The definition of ‘Chefs’ has been refined to create ease of entry, he said.
Parent and Grandparent categories
Mr Wood said that the Parent and Grandparent categories were closed in 2016 and that the Labour government was set to reopen them in 2020 but border closure impeded the plan.
“We are now processing about 9000 applications of Expression of Interest filed before the closure of the scheme in 2016. We hope to grant about 2000 visas a year. We have made the system more flexible, reduced the income threshold and allowed the income of siblings to the threshold. We will start the process of granting up to 500 people to fresh applicants showing Expression of Interest from August 2023,” he said.
Coming up: Job vacancies set to fall as international student numbers increase
