An Evaluation of work policies that provide a pathway to permanent residence in New Zealand

Introduction

Background

Anyone who wishes to work in New Zealand (except New Zealand or Australian citizens or residents) must have a work permit. Work permit policy allows people to enter New Zealand for a variety of work-related purposes. Some policies allow employers to recruit temporary workers from overseas to meet particular or seasonal skill needs that cannot be met from within New Zealand. Other policies allow family members, such as work permit holders’ partners, to participate in the labour market. Work permits are also issued to young people (aged 18-30 years) participating in working holiday schemes that New Zealand has established with a number of countries.

In 2001, the Department of Labour (DoL) undertook a review of temporary work policy. A key outcome from this review was Cabinet’s agreement to an overarching work policy objective, which was to complement residence policy by contributing to developing New Zealand’s capacity base.¹

The review of temporary work policy proposed the introduction of a Talent Visa, in essence a temporary work policy that would facilitate the transition from skilled worker to resident. Talent Visa policy would position work policy as ‘opportunity driven’, enabling employers to select talented, skilled migrants most likely to benefit New Zealand without having to first establish that a vacancy exists.² The link to permanent residence was intended to help New Zealand retain these highly skilled and talented migrants.

Work to residence policies

In April 2002, three new work to residence policies came into effect. These included the Talent (Accredited Employers), Talent (Arts, Culture and Sports), and the Priority Occupations List (now known as the Long Term Skill Shortage List Occupation policy, or LTSSL).³ Applicants through these three work permit categories are issued a multiple entry work visa or permit allowing a stay in New Zealand of 30 months, and become eligible for permanent residence after two years if they meet the requirements of the associated residence policy.

Talent (Accredited Employers)

The Talent (Accredited Employers) policy allows accredited employers to recruit highly talented workers from overseas more easily. Its purpose is to allow accredited employers to supplement their own New Zealand workforce through the recruitment of non-New Zealand workers whose talents are required by the employer. Accredited employers must have direct responsibility for the migrants they employ and their work output.

Employer accreditation is administered by the business relationship advisers in the Business Migration Branch. To become accredited, an employer must meet certain criteria, which include being in a sound financial position and having a high standard of human resource policies and processes, good workplace practices, a commitment to training New Zealanders, and a record of compliance with immigration and employment legislation.

Employers are granted accreditation for 12 months, after which time they must make an application for renewal annually. To qualify for a work permit through the Talent (Accredited Employers) policy, an applicant must have an offer of employment with an accredited employer. The job offer must be for at least two years, be full-time, and have a minimum base salary of $45,000. Applicants must be no older than 55 and must meet health and character requirements.

Talent (Arts, Culture and Sports)

The Talent (Arts, Culture and Sports) policy enables major New Zealand cultural and sporting organisations to sponsor talented individuals who have an exceptional record of achievement and are still active in their chosen field. Organisations need to give reasons that the applicant’s presence in New Zealand would enhance the qualities of New Zealand’s accomplishments by their participation in a given field of art, sport, or culture.

Applicants through the Talent (Arts, Culture and Sports) work policy must have exceptional talent in a declared field of art, culture, or sport.⁴ Sponsoring organisations are required to undertake an initial two-year commitment of support, accommodation and, if required, repatriation. Applicants must be no older than 55 and meet health and character requirements.

LTSSL Occupation work policy

Under LTSSL Occupation policy, applicants must have an offer of employment in an occupation that is included on the Long Term Skill Shortage List, and must meet the specifications for the occupation.⁵ The job offer must be for at least two years, be full-time, and applicants must be suitably qualified by training and/or experience to undertake the offer of employment (including any specific requirements set out on the Long Term Skill Shortage List). There is no specific age limit or salary threshold for people applying through LTSSL Occupation work permit policy.⁶

Residence policy for Talent and LTSSL Occupation work policy

Three residence policies complement the Talent Visa and LTSSL Occupation work permit policies. Talent Visa and LTSSL Occupation work permit holders may be granted residence through the associated residence policies after holding their work permit for 24 months. Applicants must have met the employment conditions of their work permit for the 24-month period.

Talent (Accredited Employers) and LTSSL Occupation residence applicants must have full-time employment with a minimum base salary (calculated on the basis of a 40-hour week) of $45,000.⁷ Applicants through the LTSSL Occupation residence policy must be no older than 55.⁸ A policy change in April 2004 determined that people applying for residence through the Talent Visa and LTSSL Occupation residence categories must be in New Zealand at the time they lodge their application.

Research objectives

The overall objective of this research is to describe the characteristics of accredited employers and the migrants they employ, the accreditation process, and trends in Talent Visa and LTSSL Occupation applications since the policies came into effect. The research will also identify the strengths and limitations of Talent (Accredited Employers) policy as experienced by key stakeholders.
The specific objectives of the research are to identify the trends that have emerged since the Talent Visa and LTSSL Occupation work policies came into effect in April 2002, and in particular:

• to describe the type of employers that are being accredited and the employer accreditation process
• to describe the type of migrants who are being recruited by accredited employers and trends in Talent Visa and LTSSL Occupation applications
• to determine whether Talent Visa and LTSSL Occupation work policies are attracting highly talented workers
• to describe the strengths and limitations of the Talent Visa and LTSSL Occupation policies, for example, to determine whether $45,000 is an appropriate remuneration level, and whether employer accreditation is preferable to labour market testing.

Research methodology

The research involved a quantitative analysis of the Department of Labour’s Immigration database, and an analysis of the feedback sought from key stakeholders. All Department of Labour administrative data on work and residence applications was extracted in November 2005 for the period April 2002 to October 2005.

Key stakeholders in the operation of the work to residence policies included accredited employers, immigration advisers (private sector), and immigration staff (Department of Labour). An online survey was conducted with accredited employers, and qualitative interviews were undertaken with immigration advisers and immigration officers at the Business Migration Branch in Wellington.

The online survey of accredited employers was conducted in May 2006 to seek employers’ feedback on their experiences with accreditation and Talent Visa policy. A copy of the questionnaire is provided in Appendix A. Email addresses were obtained from the Business Migration Branch for 163 accredited employers. The first email was sent on 3 May 2006 via the online services of Survey Monkey (www.SurveyMonkey.com ). This first email outlined the research objectives, project team, and respondents’ confidentiality. Twenty-eight emails were undelivered because either the address was incorrect or the recipient’s server rejected the email. Participants were given two weeks to respond, with two reminders sent during that period to those who had not yet responded. In total, the first email was delivered to 135 of the 163 email addresses. Responses were received from 71 employers out of the 135, giving a 53 percent response rate.

Four qualitative interviews were undertaken with immigration advisers who had worked closely with the work to residence policies (one was conducted via telephone, the remaining three were face to face). In all cases, the immigration advisers had an in-depth knowledge of the employer accreditation component of the Talent Visa, and this was the focus of the interviews.

A further three interviews (face to face) were conducted with immigration officers in the Business Migration Branch. Again, all three staff members had in-depth knowledge of the operation of the Talent Visa (Accredited Employers) policy.

Limitations of the data

There are a number of limitations of the data that should be given consideration. In section 2.10, the number of non-New Zealand employees is an imputed variable that was derived from other information provided by employers on the application form for accreditation. The number of non-New Zealand employees was derived by subtracting the number of New Zealand employees from the total number of employees in the company. The accuracy of the imputed data relies upon the accuracy of the data it is derived from.

Other variables in the analysis were also derived, such as the age of work permit holders. Age was calculated using the work permit holder’s date of birth and the date the work permit application was approved, giving an age as at approval date.

In a number of analyses, the administrative data used was incomplete. For example, region data was not recorded for all accredited employers. Furthermore, 13 percent of work permit holders issued a Talent (Accredited Employers) work permit could not be matched to an accredited employer because employer contact details were not recorded against the work permit application.

In the online survey of accredited employers, the sample of employers was limited to those for whom there was a valid email address at the time the survey was carried out. This amounted to 163 employers (of whom 71 responded) out of approximately 400 who held a current accreditation in April 2006 when the survey was run. The findings from the survey, therefore, may not fully represent the experiences of all employers who have been accredited since the policy came into effect.

Data analysis

Data analysis was carried out with a number of software applications, including Microsoft Access, Microsoft Excel, and SAS. Percentages in this report are rounded to the nearest whole number and, for this reason, may not always add to 100 percent.

Structure of the report

• Chapter 1 includes an introduction and describes the methods used to collect and analyse data
• Chapter 2 describes the characteristics of accredited employers and the migrants they employ. It also details the findings from an online survey of accredited employers, as well as interviews with immigration advisers and immigration staff
• Chapter 3 introduces the three work to residence categories and describes the characteristics of people approved through each of the policies
• Chapter 4 describes the characteristics of Talent Visa and LTSSL Occupation work permit holders who have gained permanent residence in New Zealand
• Chapter 5 contains conclusions and appendices.

Footnotes

1 CAB M (01) 19/6, (2001): Review of Immigration Temporary Work Policy: Talent Visa Policy.

2 Department of Labour, (2001). Review of Immigration Work Policy.

3 The Talent and LTSSL policies now comprise three of the five work to residence options that provide a pathway to gaining residence in New Zealand. The other two options include the Long Term Business Visa and the work to residence component of the Skilled Migrant Category.

4 Applicants are considered to have an exceptional talent in a declared field of art, culture, or sport where the applicant:

• has an international reputation and record of excellence in that declared field, and
• is still prominent in that declared field, and
• their presence in New Zealand will enhance the quality of New Zealand’s accomplishments and participation in the declared field.

5 The Long Term Skill Shortage List is a list in which the Department of Labour, in consultation with Industry New Zealand, relevant industry groups and unions, has identified an absolute (sustained and ongoing) shortage of skilled workers. The list is reviewed bi-annually.

6 There is an age limit and minimum salary requirement at the time an applicant applies for permanent residence through the LTSSL Occupation residence category.

7 No salary threshold exists for Talent (Arts, Culture and Sports) applicants, although the applicant (or their partner or children) must not have applied for or been granted welfare assistance at any time since the grant of their work permit.

8 The age limit of 55 years applies at the work permit stage for Talent Visas and at the residence approval stage of the LTSSL residence policy.