New Zealand plans to tighten rules for short-term worker visas


WELLINGTON - New Zealand on Tuesday announced plans to tighten rules for temporary worker visas to encourage firms to hire more local people and send more migrant workers to regions outside its main cities.
The proposed new scheme would ramp up oversight of employers planning to hire migrants on temporary work visas, including checks to ensure no New Zealander could do the job instead.
"Overall, the proposals will ensure that access to work visas is better matched to where there are genuine and high skill needs, and that the system provides more incentives and support for businesses to employ more New Zealanders," Immigration Minister Iain Lees-Galloway said.
"The proposed changes represent a significant shift in how we operate our Immigration system in the best interests of the New Zealand economy and our regions," he said in a statement.
The government said it would accept consultation with affected businesses until March and make a final decision on the scheme in mid-2019.
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern's Labour-led government took the helm in 2017 with a campaign promise to tighten up migration to ease infrastructure strains and a politically sensitive housing crisis.
Overall Labour's policies were forecast to reduce net migration by up to 30,000 from record levels of more than 70,000 annually.
The Immigration minister did not say how much the new rules were expected to reduce migration.
Official statistics figures showed net migration had already slowed to 61,800 in October—its lowest in three years—and the Treasury has said tapering population growth could contribute to slightly slower economic expansion in coming years. —Reuters

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