From Residency Pathways to Residency Roadblocks
The Government says it has created two new pathways to skilled residence. What has received far less attention is that, for many occupations, those same changes may simultaneously create new barriers that make residence significantly harder to obtain. This week I was interviewed by the Dominion Post regarding recent amendments to New Zealand’s immigration policy […]
Was Winston Peters Right? The Subtle Immigration Changes Quietly Closing the Door on Indian Migrants
Winston Peters recently claimed that Immigration Minister Erica Stanford had quietly changed New Zealand’s immigration settings in a way that would make it harder for Indian migrants to obtain residence. He also alleged in Parliament that immigration officials had advised the Minister not to publicly announce those changes because of the likely reaction from India […]
The Permanently Temporary Migrant: What New Zealand’s Latest Skilled Migrant Residence Changes tell us about the direction of New Zealand Immigration Policy
In August this year, New Zealand will introduce significant changes to its skilled residence programme, including two new residence pathways: the Skilled Work Experience Pathway and the Trades and Technicians Pathway. The reforms have generally been welcomed within the immigration industry as long-overdue improvements. However, the real significance of these changes lies not in the […]
English Language Requirements
Extended to AEWV Skill Level 3 Roles: What Employers and Migrants Need to Know From 1 June 2026, the minimum English language requirement that has applied to Accredited Employer Work Visa applicants in skill level 4 and 5 occupations now extends to skill level 3. This is a material change for a broad range of […]
Is the MAGA-fication of New Zealand’s Immigration System a Real Risk?
Recently, Prime Minister Chris Luxon and Immigration Minister Erica Stanford took questions from the media about the direction of New Zealand’s immigration policy. The Prime Minister was keen to reassure everyone that New Zealand is a sovereign nation and that we make our own immigration policies. Whew. Nothing to worry about then. Except… I’m not […]
How New Zealand Built an Immigration System That Quietly Exploits People
If you want to see where an immigration system can end up when cruelty becomes normal, you don’t have to look very far right now. Just look at the United States. There, immigration enforcement has become openly violent and performative: armed raids, family separations, detention camps, political rhetoric that treats migrants as criminals by default, […]
Submission on the Immigration (Enhanced Risk Management) Amendment Bill – Section 26
Introduction and Scope Thank you for the opportunity to make this submission. Due to limitations of time, I have chosen to focus solely on one aspect of this Bill — Section 26, which amends Section 280 of the Immigration Act. In my submission, this amendment carries significant implications for the rights and freedoms not only […]
Getting the Visa Is Just the Beginning
How employment, business, family and property issues often become part of the immigration journey. If you’ve worked with our team before, you probably know us as “the immigration people.” You might have come to us for an Accredited Employer Work Visa, an employer accreditation, residency, a partnership visa, or maybe to bring family over to […]