Visa Dates

New Zealand is opening up (well slowly at least) and over the next few months the immigration space is about to become a whole lot busier. For the last two years the borders have largely been closed, meaning a restriction on the ability for people to visit, businesses to secure skilled workers and families to reunite. The walls are however starting to crumble with a number of key dates in place for different Visa types to apply and travel in to New Zealand.

Currently the border is open to almost all existing visa holders or visa-waiver travellers, without the need for any form of self-isolation. Pre-departure tests are required before you enter New Zealand, however these are likely to be removed at the end of July 2022. If you fall in to any of the following categories, then you are able to travel freely:

• New Zealand citizens
• New Zealand permanent resident or resident visa holder
• Partners and dependent children of a New Zealand citizen or resident, who hold a visa based on this relationship
• Australian citizens and permanent resident visa holders
• Working holiday visa holders
• Work and Student visa holders who still meet their visa conditions
• Visitor visa holders
• Visa waiver travellers who holds a New Zealand Electronic Travel Authority (NZeTA)
• Someone who met a critical purpose reason to travel and was granted a visa as an exception to the border restrictions
• Transit visa holders

The above covers a lot of people but generally tends to work for those who have the ability to travel here without a visa or those who hold visas already and still meet their specific visa conditions (e.g. a Work Visa holder who still has the job the visa is based on). However what about those who have yet to secure a visa?

The key dates for this are coming up very shortly and the two to take note of are:

• 4 July 2022 - applications for work visas open, including the new Accredited Employer work visa
• 31 July 2022 - applications for visitor visa and student visas open

Alongside this, employers who are looking to bring in offshore workers need to consider the following key dates for the new Accredited Employer Work Visa scheme:

• From 23 May 2022 - applications for Employer Accreditation have commenced
• 20 June 2022 - Job Check applications can be submitted
• 04 July 2022 - Work Visas for specific employees can be submitted
• 2023 - at some stage in 2023 Accreditation will become mandatory for any employer that employs staff on any form of temporary Visa with work rights.

This means that from the beginning and end of July, two of New Zealand busiest visa categories will spark back in to life and we anticipate that demand will be fairly strong and continue to grow throughout the year. The key question will be whether Immigration New Zealand (INZ), who have typically struggled to attract and retain their own staff will be able to cope with the potential sudden increase in demand. For anyone looking to apply under either of these two streams in July, it will be crucial to plan ahead and prepare well and allow for plenty of lead-time as INZ gets back up to speed, after two years of processing hibernation.

For those looking to move here permanently, the Skilled Migrant Category pathway is scheduled to resume in July 2022 as well, although this will be followed by an overhaul of the criteria. Much has been rumoured in terms of these changes but nothing yet has been confirmed.

There are now also additional pathways to Residence under the new Accredited Employer Work Visa scheme which will offer alternatives to the Skilled Migrant Category points system. These “new” pathways are really just rebranded versions of the previous Work to Residence options.

There will be a lot happening as we approach July and a lot for INZ to work through, so our advice to anyone looking to make the move or any employers considering an offshore recruitment drive is to plan ahead, get the right advice and manage your expectations in terms of timing.

For an assessment of your options, contact us today.