Immigration Update: 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.

The 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 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 from the rest of the world in October. Finally, at Step 5, pre-pandemic visa processing is signalled to resume.

Employers and HR managers need to have two major things in their minds when considering how the border reopening can support their workforce.

Immigration New Zealand capacity

Immigration New Zealand (INZ) has a lot on its plate this year. New policies will need to be formulated (most notably the policy for the expansion of ‘other critical worker’ at Step 2, for which, at the time of writing, we don’t yet have any detail) and there is the new Accredited Employer Work Visa scheme (AEWV). The AEWV represents a major transformation to the visa system. These changes require INZ to formulate new policies, implement appropriate IT infrastructure and train its people on the new policies and systems. This is a significant internal workload.

Our expectation is there will be a deluge of new applications from Step 2 onwards because hundreds of employers have candidates ‘waiting in the wings’ offshore for the opportunity to be able to submit their applications. Additionally, thousands of employers will apply for accreditation from May onwards. If previous experience is anything to go by, confusion and misunderstanding of new policies will also mean the system gets clogged with applications that do not qualify but nevertheless add to processing delays.

The border announcements are a strong signal to employers to now refocus on offshore recruitment to fill gaps in their workforce. We expect unprecedented demands on INZ’s processing capacity throughout 2022 across all categories. At present, INZ has given no indication of doing anything to increase its processing ability. All of this points to the likelihood of significant processing delays.

Immigration re-set

Perhaps of even more importance, the clear and consistent government references to an immigration ‘re-set’ before and throughout the pandemic indicate that employers should not expect a return to pre-pandemic settings. The government’s view is that many employers are too heavily reliant on migrant labour to fill lowskilled and low-paid jobs that can be done by New Zealanders and this must change. Employers who have traditionally had a high proportion of their workforce made up of migrant workers or who have used migrant workers to fill low-paid and lowskilled roles may be in for a shock.

In the words of Hon Stuart Nash in May 2021, “When our borders fully open again, we can’t afford to simply turn on the tap to the previous immigration settings”.

The strong signals are that the immigration system will be re-set to ensure a steady reduction in the number of migrants coming to fill these roles. Employers should be aware of this strategic government objective when considering their workforce requirements.

As with any significant government announcement, the devil is in the detail. In this case, managing expectations – of both migrants and the business – will be crucial.

For more detailed information on the government’s five-step plan for the border opening, please see Lane Neave’s PDF here.

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. Go to hrnz.org.nz/pd to see upcoming courses. 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 highquality technical immigration advice that is both pragmatic and commercial.