IMMIGRATION LAW UPDATE RACHAEL MASON
Border reopening: The devil is in the detail The recent government announcement of the five-step border reopening plan was well received by employers and HR managers. Rachael Mason, from Lane Neave, outlines what we should expect over the next 12 months as the reopening gets under way. This article was correct at the time of writing. We appreciate the employment landscape is rapidly changing, and we encourage readers to always seek the latest advice from official government websites.
T
he five-step plan describes changes in the border settings and the phasing out of the MIQ system. The table here shows the main border setting changes that will be of note to employers and HR professionals. Things will start to open up for employers looking to bring in migrant workers from Step 2 onwards, first with the expansion of the ‘other critical worker’ border exception. The new border exception will remove the need to prove that the worker has unique skills and experience that are not readily obtainable in New Zealand, for 32
HUMAN RESOURCES
AUTUMN 2022
Step
Who can enter
Step 1 27 February
Travel from Australia: • New Zealand citizens and residents • applicants who already hold an existing valid entry visa (Critical Purpose visas). Worldwide travel: • expanded ‘other critical worker’ border exception • reopening of working holiday visa schemes. Worldwide travel: • existing temporary visa holders • 5,000 international students • class exceptions for seasonal workers • other priority travellers. Travel from Australia: • visitors and tourists and potentially some workers. Worldwide travel: • visa waiver country visitors and tourists • holders of new Accredited Employer Work Visas earning above median wage. Worldwide travel: • visitors and tourists • resume pre-pandemic processing (excluding suspended categories).
Step 2 13 March Step 3 12 April
Step 4 July 2022
Step 5 October 2022
roles of longer than six months, provided the worker will earn more than 1.5 times the median wage ($84,240 per year or $40.50 per hour). We expect a significant number of applications will be made under this category. The return of working holiday makers (to be phased in gradually) and 5,000 international students (many of
whom will seek part-time work) will benefit employers across a variety of sectors, but particularly the retail, tourism and hospitality sectors and in tourism hot spots such as Queenstown and Waiheke Island. Step 4 and Step 5 will see the gradual return of international tourists and business visitors, first from visa waiver countries in July and then
