Positive changes to work visa settings

As we launch into 2025, employers of Accredited Employer Work Visa (AEWV) holders should feel reassured that the road ahead looks slightly less challenging than in previous years. Rachael Mason, Partner in the Immigration team at Lane Neave, outlines the details here.

Recently announced changes will bring much-needed practicality to certain aspects of the employer accreditation regime, both in terms of the requirements employers need to meet to maintain their accreditation and in relation to AEWV applications. Given that there are more than 26,000 accredited employers in New Zealand and more than 140,000 AEWV applications have been approved in the past two and a half years, it can readily be seen that these changes will have a widespread positive impact.

ACCREDITED EMPLOYER REQUIREMENTS – EMPLOYMENT NEW ZEALAND MODULES

The requirement for employers to complete the Employment New Zealand modules was designed to prevent migrant exploitation by ensuring all employers were ‘trained’ in their minimum responsibilities under New Zealand employment law. This approach to the employer modules was effectively a lowest common denominator approach, aimed at educating employers who did not understand their obligations as an employer under New Zealand employment law. However, in most cases, it was a waste of time to require experienced HR managers, recruiters and hiring managers to complete these employer modules. The objective of preventing migrant exploitation was not achieved by imposing this unduly onerous requirement on employers. It’s great to see that the requirement has now been removed and common sense prevails.

Employers are also no longer required to provide their AEWV holders with time to complete the Employment New Zealand modules within the first month of employment. Instead, Immigration New Zealand will now provide migrant workers with the relevant links to this information as part of issuing their work visa to them and they can access it as and when they want to. Again, this is a welcome and practical solution to a matter that had been unduly administratively burdensome to employers.

The road ahead looks slightly less challenging than in previous years.

AEWV Changes

Even more welcome news to employers will be the upcoming changes to AEWV requirements. These changes are set to roll out steadily through 2025, so employers should keep an eye out for them.

First, the removal of the median wage will mean that employers will now be able to secure work visas for employees irrespective of paying them a minimum specified amount, providing the pay rate is a market rate of pay for that role and location of employment and other general criteria are met. In the past two years, many employers have not been able to justify paying the median wage for certain positions and have been forced to make do without work visa holders. The ability to get work visas for those being paid below the median wage will significantly ease this pressure. In most cases, these migrants will be eligible for a maximum continuous stay of three years before they will need to stand down offshore.

Employers will now be able to secure work visas for employees irrespective of paying them a minimum specified amount.

Another welcome change is the increase in visa duration for those in ANZSCO skill level 4 and level 5 roles from two years to three years. This visa duration will now be matched to the total length of the maximum continuous stay and will save migrants and their employers from the hassle of going through the lengthy (and costly) visa process to secure the final year of their allowable stay. Transitional arrangements are also expected to allow those with current two-year visas to be able to request the additional year, hopefully without too much difficulty.

The final change we wish to highlight here for employers is an amendment to the requirements to engage with Work and Income for ANZSCO skill level 4 and level 5 roles. This change will require employers to make a good faithbased declaration that they have engaged with Work and Income appropriately. Again, for the vast majority of employers who are genuinely trying to do the right thing, this change will make life much easier and will save valuable time.

THE DEVIL IS IN THE DETAIL

As always, the devil is in the detail and, despite these changes, the system is still full of complexity. Always get good advice about the specific rules that relate to your employee; each case is different, and the nuances of the policy will still catch some employers and migrants out. Having said that, bravo Immigration New Zealand for these changes. They really do signal smoother sailing for employers and migrant workers.

Rachael Mason is qualified in New Zealand, England and Wales, and has practised exclusively in the area of immigration law for several years. Rachael is a facilitator for HRNZ PD courses, virtual courses and webinars. She works with both multi-national corporate clients and smaller local employers across a range of industry sectors in managing their global and local migrant workforces and developing and maintaining compliance and legal right-to-work policies. Rachael is focused on providing high-quality technical immigration advice that is both pragmatic and commercial. Go to hrnz.org.nz/pd to see upcoming courses.