“As part of our signalled review, we are expanding the Green List settings to include more professions in our healthcare, education and construction sectors, to give a competitive edge in a highly competitive global environment,” he said.  

The official pointed out that since the pandemic, 3,474 nurses have arrived in the country and that they need to encourage more nurses to choose New Zealand while adding that these roles will further help build their families up long term. 

On another optimistic note, Wood added, “Our message to nurses everywhere: we are the best place to live, work and play, and you will be able to seek immediate residence.”

Here are the Green List changes to be noted

• Registered nurses (on 15 December 2022)

• Midwives (on 15 December 2022)
• Specialist doctors not already on the Green List (on 15 December 2022)
• Registered Auditors (from March 2023)

Added to Green List work-to-residence path from March:

• Civil construction supervisors
• Gasfitters
• Drain layers
• Skilled crane operators
• Skilled civil machine operators
• Halal slaughterers
• Skilled motor mechanics
• Skilled telecommunications technicians
• All secondary school teachers (some specialisations already on the Green List)
• Primary school teachers

The visa with its current criteria is closed from 7 October 2019. It will reopen in February 2020 with new criteria. We are not accepting expressions of interest (EOIs) until the visa reopens. We will start selecting EOIs in May 2020. The changes we are making to the visa include: limiting the number of people who can get the visa each year to 1000 standardising the expression of interest process and removing the 2-tier system introducing new financial requirements for sponsors, which are updated every year based on the New Zealand median income asking sponsors to provide evidence of their annual income through Inland Revenue tax statements, and show they have met the income requirement for 2 out of the 3 years before the visa application is lodged removing the option to meet financial eligibility criteria through a parent’s guaranteed lifetime income or settlement funds.

New financial requirements

The new financial requirements for the Parent Resident Visa can only be met through the income of the sponsor and their partner. Here is a comparison of the previous and the new financial requirements, based on a median salary of NZD $53,040:

If you have already submitted an expression of interest (EOI)

Some people who have already submitted an EOI will not meet the new eligibility criteria. If you have a current EOI with us, we will email you and invite you to either update your EOI or withdraw it. People who withdraw their EOIs will be eligible for a fee refund. When we begin selecting EOIs in May 2020, we will select them based on the date we originally received them, regardless of whether they were submitted under Tier 1 or Tier 2. More information about the visa changes, including how to withdraw an EOI and get a refund, is available on our website. Changes to the Parent Resident Visa ⁠— applications reopen in 2020

The cap on the number of temporary visas that can be granted for employing foreign seasonal workers is set to rise by 3150 over 2 years to 16,000. In 2019/20 the cap will increase by 1550 to 14,400. The Government has given conditional approval to raise the cap for 2020/21 by 1600 places. The 2-year approach is designed to give RSE employers more certainty and allow them to better plan their workforces. However, the 2020/21 increase is conditional on the industry: proving it is making the horticulture and viticulture sectors easier and more attractive for Kiwi workers to work in reducing its use of residential housing, and building more accommodation for seasonal workers.

New rules for employer accommodation

The Government has also introduced restrictions on the further use of residential housing by RSE employers to house their workers. These restrictions apply to accommodation not used for RSE workers in previous seasons. The intention is to make sure the RSE cap increase does not make it harder for New Zealanders to get access to residential and rental housing. The restrictions apply to some regions. In the Bay of Plenty and Hawke’s Bay, only residential houses that are owned by the employer and bought before 26 September can be used to accommodate RSE workers. In Northland, Auckland, Nelson-Tasman, Marlborough and Otago, employers cannot rent residential houses to RSE workers. Non-residential housing that can be used includes suitable accommodation purpose-built for RSE workers and guest accommodation. Areas that are not listed, and are deemed to have low housing pressure, are exempt from the restriction. Recognised Seasonal Employer Limited Visa Recognised Seasonal Employer Scheme Recognised Seasonal Employer scheme factsheetPDF 330KB

Allocating places to RSE workers

The method of allocating places to individual employers is currently being finalised. More details will be provided to RSE employers shortly. Allocation of RSE workers in 2019/20 (11 October)

Processing applications

We will process Agreement to Recruit (ATR) applications in the order that workers are due to arrive in New Zealand. This process ensures fair treatment for employers across sectors and regions. If employers need workers for shorter periods, we expect they will work together so that their workers can have up to 7 months’ work.

Criteria we used to allocate workers

In deciding the criteria we aimed to: have a fair and transparent process for all employers — in the RSE Operational Review most stakeholders recommended a percentage-based proportional system apply a simple and consistent formula for all eligible employers encourage the sharing of RSE labour to maximise benefits to workers and the industries they are employed in prioritise employers whose crops are picked early in the season by processing ATRs in the order that workers arrive.

Advising employers of their allocation

We will send individual emails to employers by 16 October with a provisional allocation of workers and an explanation of the process for submitting an ATR application.

Getting further information

Other changes to the RSE scheme, including to the increase in the cap and accommodation restrictions, are detailed in the RSE information for employers and a previous news item. Recognised Seasonal Employer Latest delevopments in the RSE Scheme

The Ministry for Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) is leading a review of temporary migrant exploitation in New Zealand. The aim is to reduce exploitation of temporary migrant workers including international students. The review has 3 areas of focus: preventing migrant exploitation protecting migrants from exploitation, and enforcing employment standards and immigration obligations.

Make a submission

We want to hear from a variety of people, who can bring their views and experiences as migrants and migrant representatives, businesses and employers, and advocates of all stakeholders. Everyone is invited to make a submission. You can find out full details of the review and the proposals on the MBIE website. We want your feedback on the proposals and to hear what ideas you have to reduce the exploitation of migrant workers. Have your say — Temporary migrant worker exploitation review consultation | MBIE

Reporting exploitation

To report exploitation, call Employment New Zealand. 0800 20 90 20 To report anonymously, call Crimestoppers or fill out a form on their website. 0800 555 111 Crimestoppers