What you need to know for now What On 30th September 2021, the Government announced a new one-off residence pathway for some temporary work visa holders who were in New Zealand on 29th September 2021. This announcement comes as welcomed news given the selection of Skilled Migrant Category Expression of Interest has been suspended for over […]
Welcome to the “2021 Resident Visa” Read More »
Mandatory employer accreditation deferred until mid-2022 After stressing about the importance of higher paid in higher skilled roles as part of its immigration “reset” the government appears to have a temporary change of heart. We were preparing for mandatory employer accreditation and this is still on the cards but it has been delayed until an unspecified
Streamlined Work Visa Processing If You Stay With The Same Employer Read More »
Some offshore residence applications are likely to follow A quick recap Offshore temporary visa processing was largely halted after our border closed and March 2020 and formally suspended from 10 August 2020. This has left around 50,000 unprocessed applications. Residence applications were still able to be processed but were low priority. This has led to
Temporary Offshore Applications To Be Lapsed Or Returned, And Refunded Read More »
Most employers are very supportive of their migrant workers. We are on the record strongly supporting the need for employers to have access to migrant works to fill skills gaps. This can be done safely. Businesses and migrant workers are both suffering as a result of current gaps. Helping employers to comply Many employers also
New Migrant Exploitation Protection Visa Read More »
As of July 2021, the biggest change to employer supported visas in years is underway. 6 current visa classes, including Essential Skills work visas and various Work to Residence visas, are being replaced by a single new Employer Accredited Work Visa (EAWV). If you employ migrants, how prepared are you for these changes? Key dates: From 30 June
Pacific Legal Director Richard Small was recently interviewed on TVNZ’s breakfast program about the situation of work visa-holders both in New Zealand and those separated from loved ones offshore. A link to the article can be found here https://www.1news.co.nz/2021/05/23/advocates-criticise-immigration-reset-as-migrant-scapegoating-call-for-kindness/
New Zealand’s Work Visa-Holder update Read More »
Free travel is back to and from Australia and the Cook Islands and from Niue and the Cook Islands. New Zealand has begun to establish safe zones for quarantine free travel. The first of these was for inward travellers from the Cook Islands (from 21 January 2021) and Niue (from 23 March 2021). On 18
Covid updates – June 2021: Travel bubbles for some, travel bans for others Read More »
On Thursday 13 April Richard Small Director and Principal Lawyer of Pacific Legal attended a meeting between the Chair and Deputy Chair and immigration lawyers. The Immigration and Protection Tribunal deals with 4 main kinds of appeals: Appeals against declined residence applications Appeals by people without visas on humanitarian grounds Appeals by residents facing deportation
Change afoot at the Immigration and Protection Tribunal Read More »
The New Zealand Border Reopening Right now, our border remains closed as it has been since March 2020. Many categories of visa are on hold and only New Zealand residents and citizens, their dependents, and a small number of others with a “critical purpose” are allowed entry. New strains of COVID-19 have led to
The Border Reopenening Read More »
Pacific Legal Covid 19 Visa Update 9 October 2020: Important changes for onshore employer supported work visas and work to residence Post Covid19, change seems to be the only constant in immigration. Since our September update, there have been further changes. There are likely to be further changes over the coming months. Check our website
