Saturday, March 30, 2024

Farming groups welcome visa changes

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DairyNZ and Federated Farmers have welcomed the Government’s decision to create a new border exemption category to allow some overseas temporary work visa holders to return to New Zealand.
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Visa holders, who must have retained their job or business in NZ, plus their partners and dependent children, will be able to apply for this exception from early October when the new category opens.

Minister of Immigration Kris Faafoi says many of these visa holders and their families had lived in NZ for years and had the expectation they would be able to stay longer-term.

“It is only fair to let these visa holders return given their long-standing and ongoing connections to this country,” Faafoi said.

The Government is expecting up to 850 visa holders may be eligible for this category and it will monitor numbers. Of those, Federated Farmers employment spokesperson Chris Lewis estimates around 50 would be dairy farm workers.

He said it might present an issue for some employers who had promoted staff into the visa holder’s role as cover during the busy calving period.

To that end, he said employers needed to check their contracts to prevent any issues once these staff return.

DairyNZ chief executive Dr Tim Mackle thanked the Government for listening to the sector’s calls for these people to return.

“They contribute to the dairy sector’s success, are invaluable for their experience and skills and are important for training incoming Kiwi staff,” he said.

He strongly advised migrants and their employers to understand the rules and confirm if they meet the exemption criteria before submitting applications.

“We don’t want to see additional stress, costs and disappointment for this group of patient people,” Mackle said.

The exemption is the second change to visa rules announced by the Government over the past week. 

On September 4, it changed its visa settings, granting a five-month extension to current onshore visitor visas that are due to expire before the end of October 2020.

The Government has also introduced a new two-month covid-19 short-term visitor visa to help temporary migrants unable to leave NZ due to international travel restrictions when their current visa expires.

The changes only apply to people already in NZ.

Faafoi says the changes will provide visitors and other temporary migrants stranded in NZ with more certainty and time to organise travel arrangements home.

Temporary migrants needed to have a valid visa to remain lawfully in NZ, otherwise they are required to leave the country.

“However, we know that international travel restrictions due to covid-19 have affected many people’s ability to leave NZ before their visas expire,” Faafoi said.

There are 19,000 people onshore in New Zealand who hold current visitor visas that are eligible for the automatic five-month extension from the date their current visa expires.

Since March 2020, around 268,000 foreign nationals have departed NZ.

On top of the extension, the visa will help people reaching the end of their current visitor, work, student or partnership visa who may not meet the criteria for another visa, and need time to arrange travel home.

“To be eligible for the covid-19 short-term visitor visa, Immigration New Zealand (INZ) must be satisfied that visitor visa holders are genuinely unable to leave NZ as a result of covid-19, they are intending to depart, and they meet normal good character requirements,” he said.

Temporary migrants who apply for this visa will not need to meet other usual visitor visa requirements, such as demonstrating that they have enough money to support their stay, having existing onward travel arrangements, or that they’ve met time limits for their stay in NZ.

“These are short-term, practical measures that are designed to help people remain lawful in NZ while they get their travel home organised,” Faafoi said.

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