In a recent development, New Zealand’s Immigration Minister Erica Stanford has announced immediate adjustments to the Accredited Employer Worker Visa(AEWV) scheme.
New Zealand Announces New Rules For Work Visas
The move appears to be in alignment with New Zealand’s immigration policies with its economic needs and to mitigate migrant exploitation.
Stanford further said, “Getting our immigration settings right is critical to this Government’s plan to rebuild the economy.”
Adding,“The Government is focused on attracting and retaining the highly skilled migrants such as secondary teachers, where there is a skill shortage. At the same time we need to ensure that New Zealanders are put to the front of the line for jobs where there are no skills shortages.”
Prior to this, the migration statistics from 2023 underscored the significance of these adjustments.
As a result, nearly 173,000 non-New Zealand citizens entered the country, almost marking a record high.
Besides this, these proposed changes aim to enhance the AEWV scheme.
They are supposed to do this by better assessing the local labor market and minimizing the displacement of New Zealand workers.
Moving ahead, Stanford clarified that most of these adjustments are not novel but rather a return to pre-pandemic norms that strike a balance between business needs and national interests.
Adding,“I am bringing in a suite of changes that will improve the AEWV scheme and ensure we are better testing the local labor market and reducing the risks of putting New Zealanders out of work. Many of these are not new, but rather a return to pre-pandemic settings that better balanced the needs of business with the wider interests of New Zealand”
Proposed Key Changes In AEWV Scheme
- They have introduced the English language requirements for migrants who are applying for low-skilled roles at levels 4 and 5.
- Introduction of minimum skills and work experience criteria.
- For the employers, who are seeking to fill level 4 and 5 positions must engage with Work and Income before migrant approvals.
- Notably, the maximum continuous stay for such roles will be reduced from 5 to 3 years.
- They will also disband the franchisee accreditation category. The businesses will need to follow standard, high-volume, or triangular employment accreditation processes to hire overseas workers.
Basically, these adjustments are aimed to bolster the scheme’s integrity and curb migrant exploitation, aligning with recommendations from the recent Bestwick review, which flagged systemic issues within AEWV procedures.
Stanford noted, “By having an English language requirement migrants will be better able to understand their rights or raise concerns about an employer early.”
