We’ve wrapped together some of the latest updates from Immigration NZ:
Median Wage Increase
The 2023 median wage has increased to $29.66/hr (as of 27 February, 2023). The median wage is the minimum pay threshold for most jobs under the Accredited Employer Work Visa (AEWV) which means visa applications submitted from 27 February 2023 will need to meet the new thresholds.
However, many tourism and hospitality roles have also been provided a temporary exemption to the median wage threshold under the AEWV, with a lower wage threshold of $25 an hour until April 2023. From April 2023 the median wage exception will increase from $25 to $28.18, or 95% of the new median wage.
Work Visa Accreditation Extension
A reminder that the initial employer accreditation periods for the AEWV will be automatically extended by 12 months if you apply before 4 July 2023.
Recovery Visa
To assist with recovery the Government has announced the launch of the Recovery Visa (a Specific Purpose Work Visa). This short-term visa will allow employers to sponsor migrants to come to New Zealand to work on the emergency response. This visa is intended for people coming to New Zealand for a short period for:
- Providing emergency response
- Immediate clean-up
- Assessing risk or loss
- Infrastructure, building and housing stabilisation and/or repair (including planning functions)
- Work that directly supports the recovery (e.g. producing relevant material for road rebuild, transport drivers etc).
You can find out more about the new Visa here. Immigration NZ are encouraging employers wanting to recruit migrant workers for longer term roles to use the existing Accredited Employer Work Visa (AEWV). Changes are being considered to this visa to support faster processing for identified roles that will support the recovery and rebuild. These roles will be exempt from the labour market test.
Variations as a result of impacts of Cyclone
To recognise some of the impacts arising from Cyclone Gabrielle, migrants already in New Zealand who need to change their role and location will be able to do so for up to two months without breaching their visa conditions. They must stay with the same employer.
Migrants wanting to move to another employer will still need to apply for a Job Change or Variation of Conditions.