People who want to come to New Zealand to visit, work, study, live, start a business, or invest must abide by the country’s immigration laws and policies. The New Zealand government has announced modifications to its immigration system. The new immigration rules of New Zealand are aimed at attracting more international employees and addressing the talent shortage in the country.

New Zealand Immigration Rules – What’s new

Adding 17 roles to the Green List

Increasing the Recognised Seasonal Employer cap to 19,500 for the 2023/24 season

Closing the Recovery Visa to new applicants from 23 September 2023

Existing holders of a Recovery Visa in New Zealand can apply for a 3-month extension

Adding a small number of roles to the Construction and Infrastructure Sector Agreement

Green List updates

The Green List is a list of occupations that qualify for a fast track to residence or have access to a work-to-residence pathway. A range of jobs are on the list, including health workers, vets, engineers and ICT specialists.

17 Roles added to the Green List

Some of the roles added to the Green List include – Aviation Engineer (Avionics, Aeronautical, Aerospace Engineer), Naval Architect (Marine Designer), Mechanical Engineering Technician, ICT Database and System Administrator, and Aircraft Maintenance Engineer amongst others.

The roles will be added to the Green List from March 2024.

Applications for work to residence pathway open

From 29 September 2023, the Green List and Sector Agreement Work to Residence pathways will open to applications for existing occupations on those lists.

Migrants with 2 years of eligible work experience in a Green List Work to Residence or eligible Sector Agreement role will be able to apply for residence if they meet other requirements relating to age, health, character and English language ability.

Increasing the cap for Recognised Seasonal Employer Scheme

The cap on the number of workers who may be employed under the Recognised Seasonal Employer (RSE) scheme is increasing to 19,500 for the 2023/2024 season — 500 more than the previous year.

The new RSE cap will allow access to workers from participating Pacific countries, providing workforce to the horticulture and wine sectors where local workers are not available.

This year’s increase reflects the request from industry for access to more workers while balancing the effects on the New Zealand labour market, including expected labour market conditions in the coming year and the availability of suitable accommodation.

Recovery Visa Last Date

The Government has announced that the Recovery Visa is closed to new applications from 23 September 2023. From 23 September, existing visa holders already in New Zealand will be able to apply for a 3-month extension to the Recovery Visa, to allow them time to transition to longer-term work visas if necessary.

Accreditation for the AEWV

Immigration New Zealand will contact existing visa holders as their visas approach expiration, to inform them of their options. Eligible visa holders will be able to apply for the extension using the existing online form for the Specific Purpose Work Visa.

Specific Purpose Work Visa

Additional roles will also be added to the Construction and Infrastructure Sector Agreement. The roles being added to the Construction and Infrastructure Sector Agreement are Driller’s Assistant, Earthmoving Labourer and Earthmoving Plant Operator amongst others.