The implementation of the Government’s immigration rebalance is progressing well, with details released today on how highly skilled migrants, including those with roles on the Green List, can apply to gain residence once they have arrived in New Zealand, Michael Wood announced today.

“The Government is focused on helping to address shortages in highly skilled areas and speeding up our economic growth. Key to this is having clear pathways that migrants can use to gain residency,” Michael Wood said.

“From 5 September, skilled workers in specified occupations will be able to apply for the Straight to Residence pathway. Skilled migrants on the ‘Work to Residence’ and ‘Highly Paid’ resident pathways will be able to apply from 29 September 2023, once they have obtained 24 months of acceptable work in New Zealand.

“The Green List covers areas where New Zealand has a skills shortage and these pathways will incentivise and attract high skilled migrants to New Zealand, by providing a new streamlined process to achieve residency for those globally hard to fill roles. This is the latest step in delivering a rebalanced immigration system that is simple, has reduced categories, and more online accessibility.

“The Government is rebalancing the immigration system to support its plan for a higher-productivity, higher wage economy and these pathways make it easier for employers to hire and attract migrants for specified high skilled, hard-to-fill, and high paying occupations.

“The new Straight to Residence and Work to Residence pathways are available for specified occupations on the Green List” says Michael Wood.

“The new pathways will have the same health, age, and character requirements as the Skilled Migrant Category but will have a different application process and be more straightforward to apply for with much faster decision times. Immigration New Zealand expects to complete most applications within 6 weeks where complete information has been provided.

“People working in Work to Residence or Highly Paid occupations can count their two years from 29 September 2021. In general, they will also need to be on an Accredited Employer Work Visa, although provisions have been made for people who have already started working in these roles on other work visas before 4 July.

“Many skilled migrants in New Zealand will already be eligible for the 2021 Resident Visa but we are backdating when work in New Zealand can be counted to ensure that the small number of people who aren’t eligible for the 2021 Resident Visa can still have some work in New Zealand recognised for the new Work to Residence and Highly Paid pathways.

“These new pathways help provide more certainty and a streamlined path for those we are looking to attract. These are not the only pathway to skilled residence, and they are intended to complement the Skilled Migrant Category. We are currently reviewing the category to identify which other skills New Zealand wants to attract and retain. Details about the new settings and when the category will reopen will be announced in the coming months”, Michael Wood said.

More information about the three new pathways will be available on the Immigration New Zealand website.

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