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The return of working holidaymakers and more skilled workers from this coming Monday will accelerate New Zealand’s economic recovery from COVID-19 by helping to fill workforce shortages and support tourism.
“Before COVID-19 we welcomed around 50,000 working holidaymakers to New Zealand each year, so it’s a key milestone in our economic recovery that we’re opening our doors to this group of tourists and workers again,” said Kris Faafoi, the Minister of Immigration.
“From Monday, the critical worker border exception for roles lasting longer than six months will also be widened by reducing the salary criteria to 1.5 times the median wage and removing the requirement to have skills not readily obtainable in New Zealand.
“These expanded settings will benefit a variety of sectors seeking to attract skilled workers, including early to mid-career professionals for roles in the tech sector, business and accounting services, education, construction and the primary industries.
“Getting more working holidaymakers and skilled migrants into the country in the coming weeks and months is a priority for the Government in order to accelerate our recovery, which is why we have reopened this category early in our reconnection plan.
“In order to get people coming to New Zealand as soon as possible we’ve granted a new 12-month visa to the approximately 19,500 people offshore who previously held a Working Holiday Visa but were unable to use it because of our border restrictions. They will need to use this new visa within the next six months.
“Working holidaymakers returning to New Zealand will be welcome news for employers, especially those in hospitality and the primary sectors, who are facing worker shortages right now.
“The primary purpose for a Working Holiday Scheme is to travel. So the return of working holidaymakers also provides a much-needed boost for our tourism sector ahead of the reopening of our borders more generally to tourists.
“Working holidaymakers tend to travel to multiple regions during their time in New Zealand, which is beneficial for the tourism sector and local economies right across the country.
“Our response to COVID-19, including having the lowest number of cases and deaths in the OECD for the last two years, makes New Zealand an attractive place for working holidaymakers to visit, and we look forward to welcoming them very soon,” Kris Faafoi said.
The Working Holiday Schemes will reopen in stages, with all uncapped schemes, which account for around three quarters of all working holidaymakers, opening for applications at 10am on Monday 14 March. Capped schemes are being staggered after that. All schemes will be reopened by 13 September.
The uncapped schemes opening on 14 March are Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, United Kingdom, and USA.
Other capped Working Holiday Schemes will re-open in the following order:
Malaysia – 16 March
Portugal – 17 March
Mexico – 22 March
Estonia – 30 March
Philippines – 31 March
Hong Kong – 5 April
Slovenia – 7 April
Hungary – 20 April
Spain – 21 April
Slovakia – 3 May
Austria – 4 May
Luxembourg – 10 May
Poland – 11 May
Korea – 17 May
Latvia – 24 May
Czech – 31 May
Israel – 7 June
Singapore – 14 June
Taiwan – 23 June
China – 30 June
Malta – 6 July
Lithuania – 7 July
Thailand – 14 July
Turkey – 21 July
Vietnam – 4 August
Croatia – 10 August
Peru – 11 August
Brazil – 18 August
Argentina – 30 August
Chile – 6 September
Uruguay – 13 September
Working Holiday 417 visa arrangements for UK passport holders
The upgrade of the New Zealand and UK Working Holiday/Youth Mobility Scheme will come into effect as of July 2023. Both countries have agreed to extend the age of eligibility, maximum stay, and the length of time individuals can work. This will allow more New Zealand and UK citizens to travel and work in each other’s countries for a longer period of time.
The upgraded Youth Mobility scheme will allow New Zealand citizens aged between 18 to 35 to work and live in the UK for up to three years.
Notes
- More information about the Working Holiday Schemes can be found on the Immigration New Zealand website: https://www.immigration.govt.nz/new-zealand-visas/options/work/thinking-about-coming-to-new-zealand-to-work/working-holiday-visa
- The new income criteria for the critical worker border exception for roles longer than six months is $40.50 per hour (1.5 times the current median wage) or $84,240 a year for a 40-hour week.
- The family reunification border exception for highly skilled workers will be aligned with the expanded settings for long-term critical workers to allow more families to reunite.
Border exceptions for workers will be phased out once applications open for the new Accredited Employer Work Visa in July.
Source: New Zealand Government Media Release
To find out if you qualify for the Working Holiday Visa click here
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