25/03/2022 - Concern new skilled migrant visa will add costs for businesses

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There's concern that a new visa to get skilled migrants into New Zealand will be too complex and costly for businesses.

Overhaul of process allowing businesses to bring in skilled migrants underway

While officials say it's designed to be easier, many are doubtful. (Source: 1News)

From July, the Accredited Employer Work Visa will be how most of these skilled staff enter the country. It's a major overhaul of the system that combines six previous visas in an effort to simplify things.

It's a change that's been in the works for years and is part of an effort to prevent the exploitation of migrants.

Read more: 25/03/2022 - Concern new skilled migrant visa will add costs for businesses

25/03/2022 - Changes to Accreditation

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Following are some changes to the new Accreditation programme;

• The date that employers can apply for accreditation has been changed from 9 May to 23 May 2022
• Migrant workers’ visa applications can be lodged on 4 July.
• Applications for Job Checks open on 20 June.
• All accredited employers hiring migrants must now pay the median wage.
• The median wage increases from $27.00 to $27.76 an hour as from 4 July 2022, therefore all jobs offered to migrant workers under the AEWV must now have a payrate of at least $27.76 per hour.
• All jobs paying less than twice the median wage (which os $55.52 per hour), anywhere in the country must be advertised in New Zealand before they can be offered to a migrant.

What about the fees, noting that these may change?

• Standard employer accreditation application $740 for up to five workers.
• High-volume accreditation applications for six or more workers $1,220 per employer.
• The job check fees $610, payable by employer.
• Possible additional fees for reconsideration of declined applications, franchise companies and third party-controlled applications.
• Migrants pay $595 per application,

22/03/2022 - Changes to the Accredited Employer Work Visa

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Read more: 22/03/2022 - Changes to the Accredited Employer Work Visa

19/03/2022 - Qualified and critical workers leaving New Zealand due to visa problems.

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Newshub has discovered critical medical workers are leaving New Zealand in droves due to anomalies in their visas - just as the Government invites others in to fill the gaps.

The National Party says hundreds are quitting these shores because they're simply on the wrong visa or can't wait while their residency applications are frozen - and we're losing more than we're gaining.   

Family doctor Paul Jones and his anaesthetist wife Fleur Harding have been on the frontline of the battle against COVID since they arrived here 18 months ago.

But they're packing to return to Edinburgh with their three children. Sick of being stuck in visa limbo, they believe their residency application has been frozen.

Read more: 19/03/2022 - Qualified and critical workers leaving New Zealand due to visa problems.

14/03/2022 - Updates & How to enter New Zealand

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Many restrictions related to Covid are being removed, however what are the requirements and guidelines for entering New Zealand? Find out more HERE

• were granted a Working Holiday Visa on or after 20 March 2019, and  
• are offshore and have been unable to enter New Zealand, and  
• have not subsequently been granted a new visa under a different category. 

10/03/2022 - NZ Inflation (OPINION)

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New Zealand’s annual inflation rate has hit its highest level in 30 years.

Why?

The Reserve Bank’s ideal target of 2% annual inflation is designed to create a Goldilocks scenario, in which the economy is running not too hot, and not too cold. The latest number – an annualised rate of 5.9% – is miles beyond this. However, most commentators, economists and fund managers were expecting a high figure. Inflationary pressure has been building in the global economy throughout the Covid-19 era and every developed economy in the world is now dealing with rising prices, for everything from food to energy to housing.

While there’s no single explanation for why the inflation numbers are so high, here are three major contributing factors.

1. Energy and commodity prices are soaring.

Given the global economy’s continued reliance on fossil fuels, oil prices have a major impact on inflation. In March 2020, when the first wave of Covid-19 sent global markets plummeting, oil prices collapsed to around US$20 per barrel. Since then, prices have headed in one direction, hitting around US$90 per barrel as economies around the world reopen and expand. Tensions in Ukraine have sped up the rise, with oil looking like it could head well above US$100 if there is conflict. It’s a similar story for other key fuels such as natural gas, heating oil and coal.

The global reopening, coupled with government infrastructure spending, has also put pressure on commodity prices. This is across the board, from construction materials (a big factor in New Zealand’s inflation numbers) to the metals needed to build the clean energy economy of the future, such as copper, aluminium, nickel and lithium.

In the face of this increased demand, the available supply for many commodities is constrained. Some of this is because of a lack of investment in new capacity over the last 10 to 15 years, because prices have been low. Creating new supply typically takes several years, which suggests that commodity prices aren’t going to return to pre-Covid levels in a hurry.

As the costs of energy and raw materials go up, we end up paying more for everything – whether that’s a new phone, or building materials, or the weekly groceries.

2. Global supply chains are in a mess.

Not only are commodities in short supply, but getting them to their destination – and all the other things we import and export – has become difficult, slow and expensive. The Baltic Dry Index, which measures the cost of shipping goods around the world, hit record levels in October 2021 before falling back substantially as the Omicron variant took hold.

Omicron has also affected global supply chains, through significant workforce disruptions at ports and in manufacturing, logistics and freight businesses. China is still pursuing an elimination policy in the face of Omicron, locking down huge populations who play key roles in making global consumer goods. Air cargo is also still behind its pre-Covid capacity.

The more expensive it is to ship goods around the world, the more consumers end up paying for them.

3. When the US runs hot, we do too.

As Covid-19 spread and sent the world into lockdown, there was no way of knowing how it would impact the global economy. As a result, governments created stimulus to keep people in jobs. This was done through different means: by cutting interest rates to near-zero; through wage subsidies that avoided mass unemployment; and through bond buyback schemes, which were essentially a way to inject fresh money into capital markets.

Because the United States is the world’s most powerful economy, the Federal Reserve’s stimulus has had a global impact. It has contributed to rising asset prices, from stock markets to housing. It has led to increased household savings and kept consumer demand for goods high. It has also enabled businesses to add cheap debt to their balance sheets. Higher spending means more economic growth, which leads to a stronger jobs market. A stronger jobs market creates a lower unemployment rate, and as worker shortages begin to emerge, wages go up – another strong inflationary pressure.

In January, the US Consumer Price Index hit an annualised rate of 7.5% – the highest rate in 40 years. With prices running this hot, The Fed is going to have to take action. And where The Fed goes, other reserve banks – including our own – tend to follow.

In the second half of 2021, there were debates about whether inflation would be transitory – a short- lived spike caused by the Covid-19 shock. In the first half of 2022, it’s looking like inflation is stubbornly here; a sign of an overheating global economy. The response from The Fed and other central banks will be to dial back stimulus, particularly in financial markets, and to increase interest rates. The goal will be to reduce the cheap money supply, rein in spending and take some of the air out of the inflation balloon before it truly gets out of control.

Source | News & Insights | NZ Fu

28/02/2022 - Breaking News - 28/02/2022 - Border reopening, new isolation rules: What you need to know

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• From 11.59pm Wednesday, all self-isolation requirements for vaccinated NZ travellers from Australia will be lifted.
• Travellers will still need a negative pre-departure test and have rapid antigen tests upon arrival and on days five and six.
• Anyone testing positive will require a PCR test to allow genome sequencing.
• From late Friday, the same will apply to New Zealanders from the rest of the world.
• Managed isolation will remain for unvaccinated New Zealanders, refugees and some community cases as needed.

Source 1News

24/02/2022 - IMPORTANT UPDATE INZ

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Immigration New Zealand advises the following;

Applications for the next phase of the 2021 Resident Visa will open from 10am on 1 March 2022. 

Those eligible will be able to apply online any time from then until 31 July 2022.  

We have made some operational decisions that mean there is no advantage to submitting an application in the first week.  

Applications made in the enhanced Immigration Online system received from 1 March will be held in our system. We will not start processing these until the end of March.   

Applications will then be released for processing in order of the principal applicant’s current visa expiry date at the time of their 2021 Resident Visa application.  

A medical certificate will not be needed to apply in the enhanced Immigration Online system. If a medical certificate or any further information is required, we will ask. 

Applicants will need to provide information from a valid passport. They will not need to send the document itself to us.

Anyone who needs a new passport has plenty of time as applications for the 2021 Resident Visa are open until 31 July 2022. 

Our enhanced Immigration Online system has been designed to cope with more applications, as this is expected under Phase 2.  

However, there is still a maximum number of people that can use the system at one time.  

When the Immigration Online system reaches maximum capacity, people already using the system will be able to submit their applications. However, those who try to log on will be advised to try again later or will be asked to wait until a space becomes available.  

We encourage you to be patient and to come back later, or the next day. We would like to make it clear that there is no advantage to applying on the first day or in the first few weeks. 

There is no limit to the number of applications a person can submit each day in the enhanced Immigration Online system. 

This means you do not have to apply for 'High Volume User' status. 

Advisers will need to upload a Resident Visa Declaration Form (INZ 1242) with all applications. 

Advisers should also note that from 1 March 2022 there will be two forms available on the INZ website: 

• The current form for those who have a Skilled Migrant Category (SMC), Residence from Work (RFW), or expression of interest (EOI) for Skilled Migrant Category in process. Payment is not required upfront when using this form. 
• A new form on the enhanced Immigration Online system for all other applicants. Payment is required upfront if applying on this form. 

Source INZ

03/02/2022 - BREAKING NEWS - FIVE STEPs to open border

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In diagramme format

The Government’s five-step plan to reopen New Zealand’s borders this year will allow more families to reunite, sectors and employers to access more skilled workers from offshore, business travel and international events to resume, and more international students to return to New Zealand.  

Vaccination, COVID-19 testing and isolation requirements will continue.

Managed Isolation & Quarantine (MIQ) requirements will remain for the unvaccinated. MIQ requirements for other travellers will be lifted in the following steps.

Read more: 03/02/2022 - BREAKING NEWS - FIVE STEPs to open border

03/02/2022 - Covid-19 NZ: Border reopening to begin from late February, to proceed in five stages

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BREAKING NEWS, read up about it here