Summary of the changes announced by INZ so far

[Frankgo]

I am updating this post as I hear the questions.

1) The Minister considers that any person here stranded on a Temporary Visa should have the means to subsist here. They are still considering other options though.

2) The Minister says INZ is considering removing the lower skilled jobs category and move everything to salary thresholds.

3) People on work visas outside the country will have to keep waiting until we move to lower levels of alert. There are no time frames.

[Frankgo]

4) The parent category visa is not going to be reviewed any time soon for the better or the worse.

5) Visas that are lapsing and haven't been extended yet will not be extended for the time being (I presume the person asking the question has her visa expiring after the 9th of July), but they might review it soon.

6) People with Resident Visas that haven't been here before will not be allowed in.

7) People with ITA's expiring during this time can send their application, but it will not be processed for now.

8) The Minister hopes that INZ will be able to work thru the backlog of residency applications during these time not taking any more EOIs!!!! (Hopefully)

9) He guesses that people here waiting for a SMC visa and kept in their role will get it eventually as their skills are still needed, but we have to keep in mind that the labour market could change and INZ could reflect on those changes.

[Frankgo]

If any one wants any more specific details about these points ask the question and will do my best to remember what the Minister said.

[JandM]

You've been doing a great job there, Frankgo - thank you.

[claire22]

Thank you Frankgo

In point 9, when you say the labour market could change and INZ could reflect on those changes, does that mean any changes they make will apply to applications already lodged??

[Frankgo]

Thank you Frankgo

In point 9, when you say the labour market could change and INZ could reflect on those changes, does that mean any changes they make will apply to applications already lodged??

My understanding was that if you have an application lodged and you haven’t lost your job you should be all right. He quite explicitly said that.

But then he said that we have to keep in mind that the labour market could change in the months and years to come and that could reflect in immigration policies (probably for future applications and for people that lost their job?). This last bit is my interpretation of what the minister said and I could have got it wrong.

[deverett]

8) The Minister hopes that INZ will be able to work thru the backlog of residency applications during these time not taking any more EOIs!!!! (Hopefully)

What backlog? 😁

9) He guesses that people here waiting for a SMC visa and kept in their role will get it eventually as their skills are still needed, but we have to keep in mind that the labour market could change and INZ could reflect on those changes.

I've read that as you're probably ok if you've applied and still have a job but paired with point 2 they'll move the goal posts on who can come and stay to try and retrain and upskill kiwis in to jobs. I think they will struggle to remove the existing applications as they legally are supposed to process as the rules were at point of application, but while the EOI pool is closed it makes sense to change any policy now before they reopen it.

[comingtonz]

I was on the call as well, and would like to add the following to Frankgo's excellent notes:

There were multiple requests for setting up an immigration specific call, as it turns out last night the Minister was more or less ambushed by all the Immigration-minded participants (no offense, guys! ). The Zoom call was really intended to be a Q&A session for the Minister's constituents in Palmerston North (the district he represents as a Member of Parliament). Hon Iain Lees-Galloway was on the call in his capacity as an MP, expecting to answer questions pertaining to local matters.
The Minister was extremely gracious in fielding immigration queries, and his relaxed and informal demeanor under pressure was truly something to behold for this jaded American. The call was cut short after Iain's WiFi problems got the better of him, and he was unable to rejoin the call.
I did manage to save the chat session for the call, and would be happy to post it if there's interest (I'd be sure to redact all the user names for privacy purposes). The vast majority of the chat is just people asking the Minister questions specific to their circumstances. The Minister did not take any of these, and took questions directly from the participants via audio. The following contacts were provided in chat (although it wasn't specified to what end):

I work for Hon. Iain Lees-Galloway in the Palmerston North Electorate Office. Please find below the contact details for the Associate Minister of Immigration and the Associate Minister for ACC. Iain has asked that these details be posted below:
Hon. Poto Williams; Associate Minister of Immigration. p.williams@ministers.govt.nz Phone: 04 817 8724
Hon. Willie Jackson; Associate Minister for ACC. w.jackson@ministers.govt.nz. Phone 04 8178798
Good evening all, if you live in Palmerston North and need advocacy/support for an immigration or ACC issue please contact Hon. Kris Faafoi at mana.electorate@parliament.govt.nz, please not this contact is for Palmerston North Residents, further information is following


Definitely hoping the Minister and his clearly over-stressed vocal cords won't hold the call against the NZ immigration community, and would consider scheduling an immigration specific call in the near future. It seems tons of people were unable to get in, let alone have their questions answered.

[YS93]

I was on the call as well, and would like to add the following to Frankgo's excellent notes:

There were multiple requests for setting up an immigration specific call, as it turns out last night the Minister was more or less ambushed by all the Immigration-minded participants (no offense, guys! ). The Zoom call was really intended to be a Q&A session for the Minister's constituents in Palmerston North (the district he represents as a Member of Parliament). Hon Iain Lees-Galloway was on the call in his capacity as an MP, expecting to answer questions pertaining to local matters.
The Minister was extremely gracious in fielding immigration queries, and his relaxed and informal demeanor under pressure was truly something to behold for this jaded American. The call was cut short after Iain's WiFi problems got the better of him, and he was unable to rejoin the call.
I did manage to save the chat session for the call, and would be happy to post it if there's interest (I'd be sure to redact all the user names for privacy purposes). The vast majority of the chat is just people asking the Minister questions specific to their circumstances. The Minister did not take any of these, and took questions directly from the participants via audio. The following contacts were provided in chat (although it wasn't specified to what end):

I work for Hon. Iain Lees-Galloway in the Palmerston North Electorate Office. Please find below the contact details for the Associate Minister of Immigration and the Associate Minister for ACC. Iain has asked that these details be posted below:
Hon. Poto Williams; Associate Minister of Immigration. p.williams@ministers.govt.nz Phone: 04 817 8724
Hon. Willie Jackson; Associate Minister for ACC. w.jackson@ministers.govt.nz. Phone 04 8178798
Good evening all, if you live in Palmerston North and need advocacy/support for an immigration or ACC issue please contact Hon. Kris Faafoi at mana.electorate@parliament.govt.nz, please not this contact is for Palmerston North Residents, further information is following


Definitely hoping the Minister and his clearly over-stressed vocal cords won't hold the call against the NZ immigration community, and would consider scheduling an immigration specific call in the near future. It seems tons of people were unable to get in, let alone have their questions answered.

Hi, could I please get this chat session? I couldn't join due to the capacity being maxed out at 200 people. Thanks in advance!

[EGoodhue]

A few more of the questions and answers from the Zoom meeting that a fellow adviser colleague managed to capture last night:

Question

Legislation allows emergency benefits to be paid in a pandemic to temporary visa holders who have no job, no income. When is the Government going to use this power?

Minister says

Go to your embassy first, they are your responsibility just as NZers overseas are our responsibility. There are no current plans to pay emergency benefits to temporary visa holders.

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Question

Many of us temporary visa holders have been here for 4 or more years and have made NZ our home. We meet humanitarian policies and so what are you going to do for us as we have no job, no income.

Minister says

You can only apply for humanitarian. However, only the most EXCEPTIONAL cases will be approved. Most, if not all are likely to be not exceptional.

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Question

Employers are cutting pay rates because of covid-19 so that someone who met the SMC-RV salary requirements do not meet them now. What are the government plans for this? Will the Government lower the salary threshold for SMC-RV applicants, and parent category?

Minister says

There are no plans to lower thresholds

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Question

We are in South Africa with valid work visas but are now prevented from entering NZ. What is the Government planning to do to help us.

Minister says

Sit tight for now. A new policy will come in due course.

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Question

People have RV but have not entered triggered their residence status as have not yet entered NZ. Some people have or will have their RV expired. What is the Government going to do for us.

Minister says

The Government will not lift the travel ban.

For those with still valid for travel RV, all you can do is apply for a critical exemption. Most likely will not be approved. For those whose RV has already expired, the Government has made no decision what to do about that.

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Question

What are the priorities for processing when INZ re-opens

Minister says

No decisions have been made yet, but the reality is that environment will be very different and application approvals will be dependent of the Labour Market at the time.