This is the Leader from our October 1, 2021 Digital Edition
Venkat Raman, Auckland, September 30, 2021
More than 165,000 migrant workers are expected to find their pathway to residency status in New Zealand, as the government opens the doors of immigration after years of dilly-dallying and causing mental agony and physical and financial hardship for people.
Against a scenario of uncertainty compounded by Covid-19 and the closed borders came an announcement from Immigration Minister Kris Faafoi that not only has the government decided to ease the residence programme for migrant workers but also simplify the process.
Two stages to Residency
Immigration New Zealand, he said, will provide residency status to all eligible workers, enable them to bring their spouses and dependent members of families and also allow employers to recruit workers who are in the skilled-shortages list- all in about 12 months. The process of opening the pathway will begin on December 1, 2021 and be conducted in two stages- the first stage ending in March 2022 and the second by the end of next year.
The immigration pathway will enable 165,000 migrant workers to qualify for residence visas. Among them will be more than 5000 health and aged care workers, about 9000 primary industry workers, more than 800 teachers, 9000 primary industry workers, 12,000 manufacturing workers on relevant visa types, some of whom will be eligible for the one-off pathway
They would however be required to comply with the health, police and security criteria.
Progress for migrant families
The 2021 Resident Visa will be available to most work-related visa holders, including Essential Skills, Work to Residence, and Post Study Work visas and their immediate family members.
Migrants who move from lower- to higher-income countries typically earn three to six times more than they did at home, according to the World Bank. The simple act of moving makes them more productive, because rich countries have better institutions, the rule of law, efficient capital markets and modern companies. Construction workers in rich countries put up better buildings because they have better tools, reliable electricity and their employer does not have to pay off corrupt local officials. Scientists in rich countries make more breakthroughs because they have better laboratories and a wider selection of other scientists to work with.
Immigrants or their children founded 45% of America’s Fortune 500 companies, including Apple, Google and Levi Strauss. Globally migrants are three times more likely to file patents than non-migrants. Migration could generate trillions of dollars, which would benefit those who move, their host countries and the wider global economy, according to Michael Clemens of the Centre for Global Development.
New Zealand will continue to be a beneficiary of immigration, provided that it is handled efficiently. The policy should also enable migrants to bring their immediate family, thereby securing their future.
Inevitable and integral
A Santa Clara University (a Jesuit Institution in the Silicon Valley of America) study has underscored the inevitability of migration, going as far to say that it is an integral part of life.
“People move to survive. They move in search of food. They move away from danger and death. They move towards opportunities for life. Migration is tied to the human spirit, which seeks adventure, pursues dreams, and finds reasons to hope even in the most adverse circumstances. Such movement affects the communities migrants leave and the communities that receive these migrants. This movement also impacts communities along the route of transit,” it said.
Hard questions to be asked
Parliamentarians often harass Immigration Ministers and those in government and seek difficult answers to equally difficult questions. Among them are (a) Is migration inevitable? (b) Is migration necessary for the survival of the human race? (c) Can migration be controlled? (d) Should migration be controlled? By whom? (e) Is migration systematic or is it organic?
Describing the ethics of migration as ‘complex,’ the Study said, “There are many perspectives on why people migrate, how people migrate, what impact migration has on receiving, transit and sending countries, and whether countries should encourage, discourage, or limit migration. Our Study raises some issues and questions in order to encourage a thoughtful, in-depth discussion of the ethics of migration.”
The Economist of London said that research by academics Christian Dustmann and Tommaso Frattini suggested that immigrants have boosted Britain’s public finances.
“They are young, healthy and (whatever the politicians imply) less likely than Britons to claim benefits. Immigrants from Eastern Europe are the best of the bunch. Labour and the Tories are thus lamenting, and UKIP is promising to stop, something that has made Britain richer.”
In New Zealand too, there is an endless debate on the benefits and otherwise of immigration. The recent issue of refugee intake from Afghanistan has enhanced that debate.
We will analyse them in our ensuing issues.
