Recently, the New Zealand government announced that starting from July 31, New Zealand will fully reopen its borders. This initiative is open to all visa categories:
includes tourist visa, work visa, family reunion visa and student visa. Moreover, from 11:59 pm on July 31, the inspection requirements for incoming personnel will also be cancelled.
Image source: Screenshot of related pages of the New Zealand government website
New Zealand Immigration and Education Bureau issued a new policy on the issue of "reopening the border" and "rebalancing immigration" :
provides visa extensions for about 20,000 immigrants who have been in New Zealand. High-skilled talents in global demand provide residence channels, simplify immigration procedures, and make adjustments to student visas and work visa policies after study. is as follows:
Visa extension
According to statistics, by 2023, about 20,000 visa holders in New Zealand have expired. Faced with such a situation, the government will take measures to extend the work visa for 6 months or open a new two-year work visa.
extension will be automatically granted a new open work visa. The new open work visa can enter and exit New Zealand, and the validity period is two years from the date of expiration of the previous visa.
New open work visa
Domestic holders of the following work visas that expired from May 9 to December 31, 2022 (inclusive) receive a new open work visa:
- Essential Skills Work Visa
- Post Study Work Visa
- Partner of a New Zealandar Work Visa
6-month extension
2022 May 9 to December 31, 2022 (inclusive) The following work transfer visa types that expire during are extended for 6 months:
- Talent(Accredited Employers)
- Talent(Arts, Culture and Sports)
- Long Term Skill Shortage List
- Skilled Migrant Job Search
- South Island Contribution
partner and dependent children also received a delay in synchronously.
Green channel
The government has formulated a new "green channel" to replace the long-term shortage skills list, simplify and prioritize residence channels, and encourage medical, engineering, technology and other talents to move to New Zealand.
This includes 85 difficult positions, of which 56 positions can be directly obtained for residence and 29 positions can apply for residence after two years of work. Due to space reasons, the specific list will not be listed yet. This "green channel" list can be viewed on Tianwei.com website.
Application conditions
From July 4th, I came to New Zealand with a work visa and applied for residence from September. Starting from September, you can also apply for residence directly from overseas. Some positions have minimum wage requirements and will be linked to the salary median and will change over time.
- Applicants under 55
- Spouse can get an open work visa
- Hire employers of positions in the "green list" list, complete the job check without advertising certification
- "green list" position will have registration, qualification or experience
New policy for study abroad
After study, work rights
From May 11, 2022 , any student visa application received that is not within the scope of the transition arrangement, including student visa application from New Zealand, will be followed by the new study post-work Sign policy implementation.
Students who pursue a bachelor's degree in and above (including postgraduate diploma PGD) will have the same work visa duration as the duration of studying in New Zealand, at most no more than 3 years. master's and doctoral students will continue to obtain 3 years of post-study work rights.
Students who are studying for non-degree courses will not have post-study work rights (including post-bachelor's diploma GD), unless they are studying the relevant qualifications on the "Green List".
International student will no longer be able to apply for a second post-study work visa .
International Student Life Margin Increase
From July 31, 2022 , International Student Living Fee Fund Requirements will be increased:
Higher Education Student Visa Applicants' Living Funds increased from 15,000 NZD per year to 20,000 NZD per year for primary and secondary schools That increased to $17,000 per year.
Starting from May 11, you need to present funding certificate of 5,000 NZD when applying for a work visa after study .
funding requirements will be reviewed every three years to ensure students have a reasonable budget for the cost of living in New Zealand.
In addition, the Immigration Bureau also stated that the skilled immigration category will be reopened after the application is closed (July 2022); because the Immigration Bureau will withdraw personnel to approve the visa, the approval of the 2021 resident visa may be postponed.
