25/09/20 - BREAKING NEWS - Work to Residence

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Some very important changes to immigration instructions to allow holders of a Work to Residence visa, who have a Residence from Work application in progress, to be granted a subsequent Work to Residence visa in order to maintain their eligibility for residence and to provide some flexibility for South Island Contribution work visa holders.

The changes to immigration instructions allow, in cases where a residence from work visa has been lodged:

Read more: 25/09/20 - BREAKING NEWS - Work to Residence

24/09/20 - BREAKING NEWS - Study on a Visitor Visa

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Visitors can study for an extra three months on their visitor visas

The Minister of Immigration has increased the length of time visitors can study here without needing to apply for a ‘variation of conditions’ to their visa or a student visa. 

People who held a valid visitor visa on Friday 11 September 2020, and are in New Zealand now, can now study for up to six months in a year. This gives them an extra three months on top of the usual three months they are allowed on a visitor visa.

Read more: 24/09/20 - BREAKING NEWS - Study on a Visitor Visa

22/09/20 - BREAKING NEWS - Update from INZ

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Click here for the latest BREAKING NEWS with updates from INZ

15/09/20 - BREAKING NEWS - update

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Latest news and update on the processing of overseas applications, click here

14/09/20 - Overseas immigration employees on full pay, New Zealand staff struggle with tech

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Staff at overseas government offices who have been off work during lockdown have remained on full pay - at an estimated cost of $7 million.

And more than 3000 staff at the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) were still using Windows 7 systems, causing delays to working from home.

Immigration New Zealand (INZ), a business unit of MBIE, said 427 overseas staff had been kept on, but for security reasons they did not have the option to work from home.

Read more: 14/09/20 - Overseas immigration employees on full pay, New Zealand staff struggle with tech

10/09/20 - BREAKING NEWS - Important update

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The latest Important update from INZ, click here

09/09/20 - Covid-19: Number of investor visa applications soar since outbreak

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Wealthy Americans are leading a surge in foreign investors seeking a safe haven in New Zealand from their coronavirus-ravaged countries and economies.

The number of investor visa applications has soared since the coronavirus outbreak, and the government agency working to attract overseas money says New Zealand's strong coronavirus strategy is behind a tenfold surge in interest.

New Zealand Trade and Enterprise (NZTE) - the government's business development agency - said some people wanted to invest in a New Zealand company that is operating or selling in their home market, while others wanted to relocate their own business here.

"New Zealand's response to Covid has definitely been noticed in other countries, and has created a window in time where interest in relocating businesses to New Zealand or investing here is higher than normal," said NZTE general manger of investment Dylan Lawrence.

"Where before we might field one to two approaches a month we're currently receiving about five a week. But there is a difference between having interest and then having engagement and outcomes."
Coronavirus was working against investors getting on the ground in New Zealand to do their work and NZTE had to do its due diligence.

"We're only after certain types of investment - we say the investment's got to be good for New Zealand not just good for the investor, and by that I mean how real is it, does it create jobs for New Zealanders, does it bring capability networks, technology, or does it provide access to new markets?

"On the other side it's still a really uncertain investment environment out there right now and with the movement of people across borders being really difficult, it has
made global investment a lot harder. And I think that sort of played out in the global statistics with merger and acquisition activity at a 10-year low this year, and also the number of venture capital deals were well down this year, back to 2014 levels.

"There's a lot of interest out there and there's a lot of money out there - the challenge is converting that interest and that money into good outcomes for New Zealand."

North Americans now accounted for more than half of the inquiries the agency fields, followed by investors from Europe.

New Zealand's coronavirus response had multiplied its existing advantages, he said - of lifestyle, its Pacific Rim location, trade deals and innovative businesses.

Immigration lawyer Simon Laurent added another factor to that list.

"New Zealand offers a level of civic stability and safety, which many people in the US do not feel in their home country," he said. "And sadly, that means that any destination that is basically Covid-19 free and offering a stable government and civil society is very attractive to people who are in fear for a number of reasons of their daily life back in the US.

"We're seeing a continual increase in interest, not just in the investment field but in people from the United States in whatever situation who are increasingly approaching us in order to find some way that they can come to New Zealand. The anecdotal comments that I've been hearing and receiving personally from people for instance in the US, and not just in the US, is that New Zealand is one of the few places that they feel really stands out as somewhere that they would like to live."

Investment could offer a secure long-term option for those who can afford it, said Laurent, and by the time they were approved and had transferred their investment funds, the border may have re-opened to welcome them.
Immigration figures show applications from top-end investors with at least $10 million have more than doubled in the three months to August compared to the same time last year.

The number of Americans wanting to invest at least $3m has grown by even more - only a handful of Americans applied this time last winter but the United States has been the top nationality since June.

Laurent said those investments brought benefits apart from the welcome injection of cash.

"The policy is set up to encourage the human capital to come into the country - people who've got business experience, who know how to make money and how to share the wealth," he said. "And those are the sorts of
people I think we need to continue encouraging, especially when we're moving into what appeared to be recessionary times.

"So overall I believe that the government ought to put a focus back on finding a way for such people to be able to come and move to New Zealand and settle here because of what they can bring both fiscally, and in a perhaps less tangible way of their skills and their abilities - that is something that needs to be facilitated."

Source: RNZ, Gill Bonnett

09/09/20 - Govt's lifeline to 5600 new residents stranded overseas

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Immigration Minister Kris Faafoi on his way into the House for Question Time, Parliament.

The Government has changed New Zealand's visa rules so new residents stranded overseas because of Covid-19 will be able to hold on to their residency status.

The new settings mean than anyone whose travel conditions are about to expire will receive a 12-month extension to travel to New Zealand.

And those whose travel conditions have expired on, or after, February 2 this year – when travel restrictions began – will be issued a new visa, also valid for 12 months.

Under the current settings, once someone is granted a resident visa they must travel to New Zealand within a certain timeframe to have it activated.

But the border restrictions have prevented many people from returning to New Zealand and, as a result, their visa has expired or is about to expire.

Immigration Minister Kris Faafoi said the new changes will provide around 5600 resident visa holders with more certainty about their ability to come and settle in New Zealand in the future.

"The Government recognises that these individuals have recently met the requirements to be granted residence," he said.

"If not for border closures forced by the Covid-19 pandemic, they would be living in New Zealand and contributing to our team of five million," Faafoi said.

But he added that individuals will only be able to travel to New Zealand if they are exempt from the current border restrictions or have been granted an exception.

Extending travel conditions for these visa holders or issuing a new visa does not mean they are now exempt
from the current border restrictions if they were not previously, Faafoi said.

"It has been important to run tight border restrictions to keep Covid-19 contained while also prioritising the return of New Zealanders.

"But we are now able to start making some adjustments to immigration settings which will allow a small number of people who, under normal circumstances, would have the right to come to New Zealand to know that will still be possible," he said.

Source: NZ Herald

09/09/20 - New border exception for normally resident work visa holders

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The Government is creating a new border exception category to enable the return of some temporary work visa holders who are overseas and have strong, ongoing links to New Zealand.

The Minister of Immigration, Kris Faafoi, has announced that visa holders, who must have retained their job or business in New Zealand, plus their partners and dependent children, will be able to apply for this exception from early October when the new category opens.

“Many of these visa holders and their families have lived in New Zealand for years and have built lives here with the hope and expectation that they would be able to stay longer-term in New Zealand. It is only fair to let these visa holders return given their long-standing and ongoing connections to this country.

“We are keen to give them certainty and welcome them back to New Zealand,” Kris Faafoi said.

“To date, the Government’s priority has been to facilitate the return of New Zealand citizens and permanent
residents. Since April more than 40,000 New Zealanders have come home.

“We are now starting to be able to make adjustments to our COVID-impacted immigration settings which will allow a small number of people who, under normal circumstances, had the right to come to New Zealand to do so now.

“That requires balancing the numbers of people returning with the capacity to manage them in isolation facilities so we can keep COVID-19 contained.

“We have the ability to cope with around 7000 people in managed isolation at any one time and those who fit the specific criteria of this new normally resident border exception category are now able to be managed within our system alongside returning citizens and permanent residents.

“In order to manage flows of returnees into Managed Isolation, they will also be expected to use the managed isolation allocation system when it goes live,” Kris Faafoi said.

To be considered for the new border exception and to demonstrate a strong and ongoing connection to New Zealand with realistic prospects of remaining here long- term, visa holders must:

• still hold their job in New Zealand, or continue to operate a business in New Zealand
• hold either a work to residence visa, or an essential skills visa that is not subject to the stand-down period, or an entrepreneur visa

• have departed New Zealand on or after 1 December 2019
• have lived in New Zealand for at least two years, or, if living in New Zealand for at least one year, have one of the following:
  • an entrepreneur work visa and operating a business in New Zealand (and operated it before departing New Zealand
  • 
their dependent children with them in New Zealand (for at least six months)
  • parents or adult siblings who are ordinarily resident in New Zealand

  • submitted an application for residence by 31 July 2020
• have held a visa at the time of departing that does not expire before the end of 2020, or, if expiring before that date, have applied for a further visa by 10 August 2020.

The Government is expecting up to 850 visa holders may be eligible for this category and it will monitor numbers. 

Source: Kris Faafoi, Minister of Immigration, Beehive

04/09/20 - BREAKING NEWS - important for visitor visa holders

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Please click here if toy current onshore visitor visas is due to expire between 4 September and the end of October 2020.