'Significant shift' in temporary work visa system announced by Government

[Yanco]

A lot of dreams will be shattered. At least my mind is a bit at ease that my SMC is lodged almost 8 months ago. Lodged applications should be safe from changes.

[BoerieNZ]

A lot of dreams will be shattered. At least my mind is a bit at ease that my SMC is lodged almost 8 months ago. Lodged applications should be safe from changes.

I don't want to alarm you man, but a lot of people had their parent category visas lodged as well, and they were kept in limbo as well. There's absolutely no guarantee that any SMC applications in the queue at the moment will not fall victim to the changes being made by the government now. I believe you would be unwise at this stage to not start planning for alternative options.

[Yanco]

I don't want to alarm you man, but a lot of people had their parent category visas lodged as well, and they were kept in limbo as well. There's absolutely no guarantee that any SMC applications in the queue at the moment will not fall victim to the changes being made by the government now. I believe you would be unwise at this stage to not start planning for alternative options.

You never know indeed. My partner is on a Talent (Accredited Employer) Work Visa and she will have worked 2 years for her employer June next year so that's our alternative option to residency.

We didn't want to wait two years so we applied for SMC as soon as we had enough points. Just still unbelievable it's taking this long I think I've aged 10 years the past two years trying to get this residency lol

[charcharbinks]

Id buy the whole “INZ can change policies whether lodged or not” if they did that to to other residency pathways other than the parent category

Parents = higher chances of freeloading from govt money lololol

Skilled workers = contributes via income tax and skills, better investment than old people who are likely to just leech off

[JandM]

I see that the official announcement(s) about this are on the INZ's News and notifications page. https://www.immigration.govt.nz/abou...-notifications It's probably better to rely on the information there than on any speculation - obviously, there are going to be all kinds of rumours going round, but we won't KNOW until the official word comes through. They say there that there are details yet to be worked out over the next 18 months, and there are links on this page to sources which they say will be kept up to date as things get decided and become official.

In the short term, it looks as though anyone who was already preparing to apply because they qualify under the present Work to Residence – Talent (Accredited Employer) visa category had better get their act together and put their application in FAST, as if it is in by 7th October, 2019, it will be processed under the existing regulations.

[deverett]

Well this is scary. Both the LTSS and Talent Visas are Residency pathways, which they are essentially closing now. What's even more dubious about this is that they have the gall to allow entire families to come over with no pathway to residency - basically they want people to come in, build the country, and then kick them out as soon as they feel they don't need them anymore. No remorse for the people and families who have been displaced in the process. Well done.

Welcome to the Australian way 😁 they already hugely clamped down in this way when they abolished 457 visas removing the residence pathway on its replacement. Hopefully those in process should be ok, we applied under a set of rules and they entered in to the agreement when issuing an EOI.

Yes, in theory they can change the rules to stop things but I would think they would grandfather the visas out not turn around and kick thousands of people out who no longer qualify.

The changes do make sense, it brings the talent visas in line with the highly skilled area of SMC, so anyone on a lot of money cruises through with hardly any paperwork but lower skilled people will need to prove why they are needed. Those on lower money aren't essentially being told no they just have to get an essential skills visa instead and do the extra work to prove there's no kiwis.

[Unkikonki]

I see that the official announcement(s) about this are on the INZ's News and notifications page. https://www.immigration.govt.nz/abou...-notifications It's probably better to rely on the information there than on any speculation - obviously, there are going to be all kinds of rumours going round, but we won't KNOW until the official word comes through. They say there that there are details yet to be worked out over the next 18 months, and there are links on this page to sources which they say will be kept up to date as things get decided and become official.

In the short term, it looks as though anyone who was already preparing to apply because they qualify under the present Work to Residence – Talent (Accredited Employer) visa category had better get their act together and put their application in FAST, as if it is in by 7th October, 2019, it will be processed under the existing regulations.

So what about those of us who already are under a Talent (Accredited Employer) Work Visa but earn less than $90,000 per year? Will be able to apply for the Talent (Accredited Employer) Resident Visa but NOT for Permanent Residency?

[JandM]

If you have a Talent (Accredited Employer) Work Visa or you applied before 7 October

You are not affected by these changes and the conditions and length of your visa will not change.

If you later apply for a Talent (Accredited Employer) Resident Visa you will only need a salary of NZD $55,000 or more.

If your salary is NZD $90,000 or more when you apply for a Talent (Accredited Employer) Resident Visa, you may be eligible for a Permanent Resident Visa.

https://www.immigration.govt.nz/abou...oyer-work-visa

There is NO change to your situation as someone who now holds one of these visas. If when you apply for your Talent (Accredited Employer) Resident Visa, you are earning more than $90,000 a year, you will IMMEDIATELY be granted PR, whereas if you earn at least $55,000 a year, you will be granted Residence, and THEN, after two years as a residence visa holder, you can qualify for PR. https://www.immigration.govt.nz/new-...-visa#criteria

[lilswtangel]

I'm eligible to apply for the Talent Resident Visa next February but I'm expecting processing times to take 5 - 8 months with my current Talent Accredited Employer Work Visa expiring in August which means that potentially my resident visa wouldn't be processed in time before the work visa expires. I was planning to renew the visa next July if the resident application was still in process.

Should I renew the Talent Work visa now even though it doesn't expire until next August? Come 7th October, I won't be eligible for it when the threshold increases to nearly $80,000.

If I do renew before 7th Oct, would the nearly two years I've spent on my current Talent Work visa count towards eligibility for Feb's resident visa application or would I have need to work a further two years to become eligible again?

[sandy08]

Both the SMC and Talent Visas are Residency pathways. Talent (Accredited Employer) Work Visa has been toughened, or say literally closed. Not sure what changes they will bring to SMC category visa.

Anyone received ITA for the EOI selected from recent draw pool?