In this GMS Flash Alert, we report on the New Zealand government’s announcement of significant reforms to the Accredited Employer Work Visa (AEWV) programme, to be implemented in four different stages over the course of 2025, commencing in January 2025.1
As part of these changes, Immigration New Zealand (INZ) will also be revising the Job Check phase of the AEWV process, to streamline Job Checks for low-risk employers and to decrease processing times for this application type.
The announced changes should make sponsoring of foreign workers, easier and faster, with more consistency and predictability in the decision-making process.
The New Zealand government has acknowledged the extensive wait times currently experienced under the AEWV, and the changes highlighted in this newsletter seek to address preparation and lodgement timeframes to increase programme efficiencies.
INZ has engaged in significant stakeholder consultation on the usability of the AEWV programme, in efforts to maintain a “responsive immigration system … fundamental to rebuilding the economy.”2 As a result of this consultation and an internal review of the programme, the government has announced several significant changes to take effect in 2025, including:
The changes to streamline the AEWV application requirements and deliver greater consistency in processing timeframes should remove some of the challenges encountered by businesses using the programme in the future.
The changes underscore the New Zealand government’s stated recognition of the need to have a flexible and efficient immigration system that responds to the needs of business and is receptive to the feedback from industry.
More information about the changes will be available in the coming months.
1 New Zealand Immigration News Centre, "Reforms to Accredited Employer Work Visa announced" (17 December 2024).
New Zealand Immigration:
"Accredited Employer Work Visa"
2 Hon. Erica Stanford, "Securing the skills and experience NZ needs" (17 December 2024) on the Beehive.govt.nz web site at: https://www.beehive.govt.nz/release/securing-skills-and-experience-nz-needs.
* Please note the KPMG International member firm in the United States does not provide immigration or labour law services. However, KPMG Law LLP in Canada can assist clients with U.S. immigration matters.
** Please also note that the KPMG International member firm in Australia is currently providing New Zealand immigration services.
The information contained in this newsletter was submitted by the KPMG International member firm in Australia.
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