Principal developments in migration policy

Legislation: the Immigration Act 2009

A new Immigration Act 2009 came into law in November 2009. It is a complete rewrite from first principles of the existing legislation, which dates from 1987. The Act establishes a legislative framework aimed at ensuring that into the future:

• New Zealand can have the skills, talent, and labour needed for its economy
• New Zealanders can have confidence in the country's border security
• migrants and refugees can settle well and integrate into communities.

The Act has no direct impact on foreign workers because the detail of immigration policy, including on immigration work policy, is determined by the Minister of Immigration. It is expected to take 12-18 months to implement the new legislation.

Policy developments

The major policy developments over the past year have been the introduction of the incoming Government's manifesto commitments. These include streamlining the RSE Policy, introducing a Supplementary Seasonal Employment Policy, and redesigning business policies.

Recognised Seasonal Employer policy

The RSE Policy has the goals of:

• providing timely labour for horticulture and viticulture employers
• providing development assistance to Pacific states through the training and temporary employment of their citizens in those seasonal industries
• raising employment and labour standards in those industries
• discouraging the use of illegal labour.

In 2009, the RSE Policy was amended so that employers now have more flexibility to recruit outside the Pacific region if they have a pre-established relationship with workers from other countries. The rules around deductions from RSE workers' wages were brought into line with those for New Zealand workers. A requirement to hold current health insurance will be added to the policy. Employers will be required to arrange (but not necessarily pay for) health insurance.

In addition, a new seasonal employment policy for visitors already in New Zealand, called the Supplementary Seasonal Employment Policy, has been introduced to replace the Transitional RSE. It allows horticulture and viticulture employers to 'top up' their workforce during periods of significant seasonal peaks when New Zealanders are not available.

New business migration policies

A new business migration package was introduced in July 2009. The package aims to boost economic performance by making New Zealand more attractive for business and entrepreneurial migrants. Two new categories of investor (Investor and Investor Plus) have replaced the three existing categories (Global, Professional, and General). A new category of entrepreneur (Entrepreneur Plus) will augment the existing Entrepreneur Category (see chapter 8). The new policy introduces realistic investment expectations and English language requirements.

Developments in temporary entry policies

A variety of work was also undertaken to ensure that temporary work policy was responsive to the increase in unemployed New Zealanders. This included work to limit the permit duration of lower-skilled temporary work applications to one year to ensure more regular labour-market testing.

In addition, the Essential Skills in Demand Lists, comprising the Long Term Skill Shortage List (LTSSL) and the Immediate Skill Shortage List (ISSL) are reviewed twice a year. Significant work was undertaken on the lists in 2008/09, which resulted in the removal of 8 occupations from the LTSSL and 44 occupations from the ISSL in July 2009.

A new visitor policy was introduced for holders of employer-specific work permits who had been dismissed from their job during a 90-day trial period.

Plan of Action to Prevent People Trafficking

The Plan of Action to Prevent People Trafficking was agreed by Cabinet on 2 June 2009. The plan is a whole-of-government response to the crime of people trafficking. While no evidence of people trafficking has been detected in New Zealand, it is considered that New Zealand might be, or has been, targeted as a destination country for the exploitation of trafficking victims.

The Department of Labour leads the anti-trafficking work of the government by chairing the Inter-agency Working Group on People Trafficking. The Department developed the plan with input from the working group and is now responsible for implementing and monitoring the plan over the coming years. The plan was developed within departmental baselines.

Victims of Domestic Violence Policy

In March 2009, the Department of Labour enhanced the criteria of the immigration Victims of Domestic Violence Policy (first implemented in 2001). This policy provides a safety net for people who migrate to New Zealand intending to seek residence based on their partnership with a New Zealand citizen or permanent resident, but that relationship has broken down due to domestic violence committed against them by the New Zealand partner. The policy reflects that some people can suffer stigma and financial hardship in their home country due to the relationship breakdown. The changes were implemented within departmental baselines.

Closer economic partnerships and free trade agreements

No multilateral or bilateral agreement on the return of foreign workers has been entered into or contemplated. A free trade agreement with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and Australia was signed in February 2009 and will come into effect late 2009 or early 2010. New Zealand has made side agreements with the Philippines and Vietnam to facilitate entry to the New Zealand labour market of a limited number of highly skilled professionals, if certain conditions are met. Those conditions include the provision of a bona fide job offer, and the individual meeting specific qualifications and/or work experience requirements.

The specific occupations include nurses, farm managers, and engineering professionals for the Philippines, and chefs and engineering professionals for Vietnam. The text of the agreement can be found on the ASEAN-Australia-New Zealand Free Trade Agreement website http://www.asean.fta.govt.nz/the-agreement.^[34]

Working Holiday Schemes will also be negotiated with the Philippines and Vietnam.

New Zealand's immigration policy, including its work policy, can be found on the Department of Labour website.^[35]

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