03/12/07 - New Funds Transfer Scheme helps Beijing students study in NZ

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27/11/07 - NZ forced to join global race for immigrants

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Monday November 26, 2007

Singapore wants an increase in population of more than 2 million. Attracting skilled workers has become a global popularity contest with nations slugging it out for the best migrants.

Grant Fleming of NZPA looks at how New Zealand is faring. The kind of aggressive approach to immigration being taken by Singapore may have to be adopted in New Zealand. ingapore's leaders have set a target - to boost the population from 4.4 to 6.5 million by the middle of the century, meaning a need to loosen immigration and make its education system internationally attractive.

Business New Zealand chief executive Phil O'Reilly said: "The bar is being raised very, very rapidly indeed, because most of the developed economies in the world are facing the same kind of labour market crunch that we are." e is referring to the phenomenon of an ageing population, low unemployment and a persistently strong world economy. And he says New Zealand, with a 3.5 per cent jobless rate, needs to do more to make itself attractive to the workers it wants to drive the economy.

"We are fooling ourselves if we think all these people want to come to New Zealand because it's clean and green and a long, long way away. In fact for many of them the fact that it's a long way away and it's small is a downside because they are ambitious and want to succeed on a world stage."

He says New Zealand has some strong selling points, but it needs to market itself better and make it easier for people to come and settle here permanently.

The New Zealand Association for Investment & Migration (NZAMI) chairman Richard Howard says the Government approved 47,000 new permanent residents last year - about 8000 fewer than it could have. He thinks the Government should let more people stay, but he says it is doing a good job in some areas.As well as permanent residents it has been allowing large numbers of people in on temporary visas - student or working holiday or seasonal work - in the hope that some will choose to stay.

Mr Howard, who runs an immigration consultancy in Hamilton, says the benefit of the strategy is that those who decide to stay have already sampled the country and are likely to stay long-term. About 80 per cent of last year's new residents came from temporary categories. But he says if such a strategy is to work the Government needs to make sure it is pulling people into its feeder streams.

In the case of students, he says, that hasn't been the case - the number of Chinese students has dropped and Indian student numbers have plateaued. He says that is to do with the quality of courses on offer and aggressive marketing and competition overseas."The Government needs to do something that reignites that market.

"Immigration Minister Clayton Cosgrove says the Government has just made it easier for students to stay in New Zealand after they graduate - extending the period of time they can stay on and look for a related job from six months to a year. He says that is one of several things it is doing to ensure the flow of people to New Zealand's shores - for example responding to skill shortages through the use of temporary permits.While resident places are capped, temporary permits are not - as long as employers can show a need that can't be filled locally, then a permit can be issued. Prominent shortages include health professionals and IT specialists.

Mr Cosgrove says the Labour Department's immigration service processed 160,000 applications for such permits in the past year. And it has also participated in a range of migration, recruitment and education exhibitions - in the last two months alone it provided support for 15 such exercises in Britain and Europe and the number is set to grow over the next year.

But Mr Cosgrove says the Government also has to make sure the flow of new residents does not impact negatively on society and the economy - an example would be the impact on house prices which some have attributed at least in part to strong migration in recent years.But Mr O'Reilly says while temporary permits are helpful in the short term they don't necessarily increase the prospect of people staying permanently.

"While they are temporary migrants of course, they struggle to settle down, they don't know how long they are going to live in New Zealand, so they don't invest in properties, they might not put their kids in school, they might not bring their partners out so they are kind of in stasis without having any clear future in the country, meaning we might not get the best out of them and they might go somewhere else".

He says the Government has initiated some good partnership programmes with businesses, making it easier for them to bring in staff, but he says more co-ordination and co-operation is needed both in marketing and determining who gets in.

"New Zealand genuinely does have a lot to offer - it is clean and safe, culturally diverse and tolerant. But we need to get out and sell the message better."(Grant Fleming travelled to Singapore with the assistance of the Asia New Zealand Foundation)

- NZPA

26/11/07 - Changes in Skill Shortages Lists

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Friday, November 23, 2007

The Immediate Skill Shortage List (ISSL) and the Long Term Skill Shortage List (LTSSL) have been amended. The changes will take effect on 26 November 2007.

20/11/07 - More immigrants, but flight to Aussie continues apace

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09/11/07 - Details of the new Active Investor Migrant Policy

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Friday, November 09, 2007

The full details of the new Active Investor Migrant Policy, which opens on 26 November, are now available. Please contact TNC for further information.

09/11/07 - New policies horticulture and viticulture industries

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Friday, November 09, 2007

On 26 November 2007, new and amended policies to assist the horticulture and viticulture industries will take effect.

09/11/07 - Changes in Skilled Migrant Category

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Friday, November 09, 2007

On 26 November INZ will introduce changes to the Skilled Migrant Category that will primarily affect the way in which they assess whether an applicant's job or job offer is 'skilled employment', and which qualifications they will recognise.

05/11/07 - Czech Working Holiday Scheme full

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Monday, November 05, 2007

The 1000 places available under the Czech Working Holiday Scheme for the year to 29 February 2008 have been filled. On 1 March 2008 a further 1000 places will become available.

16/01/08 - Seasonal Work Permit Policy Regions changes

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 Wednesday, January 16, 2008

Nelson/Tasman added to list of regions with a seasonal labour shortage

Tuesday, January 08, 2008

The Ministry of Social Development has declared the Nelson/Tasman region as a region of seasonal labour shortage in the horticultural and viticulture industries. This is effective from 1 January 2008 until further notice.
Addition to list of regions with a seasonal labour shortage

Thursday, December 20, 2007

The Ministry of Social Development has declared the Central Hawkes Bay, Hastings and Napier as a region of seasonal labour shortage in the horticultural and viticulture industries. This is effective from 18 December 2007 to 30 June 2008.

Tuesday, October 23, 2007

The Ministry of Social Development (MSD) has advised that Central Otago has been declared a seasonal labour shortage region for the period 15 October 2007 to 31 May 2008.

19/10/07 - Lawyers recoil from 'nightmare' change

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Friday October 19, 2007

The Law Society says law changes to allow wider use of secret information in immigration decisions is "a Kafka-esque nightmare" and contrary to fundamental principles of fairness.

Peter Moses, representing the Law Society in its submission on the Immigration Bill to the transport and industrial relations select committee, said the use of classified information in refugee and protected-person cases in particular was unfair.

"Knowing the case against you is a cornerstone of procedural justice. The reliance on secret information proposed in the bill is a fundamental departure from established legal principle and is a major concern to us."

Such information is kept from the person it relates to, and the use of it became controversial after a security risk certificate was issued against Algerian refugee Ahmed Zaoui on the basis of information which could not be revealed to him.

The new law will allow such classified information to be used in a wide range of immigration decisions, including by the Immigration Protection Tribunal considering refugee or protected-person claims, and by the Minister of Immigration in decisions on visas, entry permits and deportation orders.

The new law does introduce some safeguards - including providing a summary of the information to the person where possible, and allowing a "special advocate" to be briefed on the information and represent the person.

Mr Moses said rejecting someone applying to visit as a tourist or student because of classified information which revealed involvement in drug smuggling, for example, was justifiable.

But the highest standards of fairness must apply to people trying for refugee status or to enter as protected people because fundamental rights of life and liberty were at stake.

"In our view the bill and the use of secret information would undermine that."

Mr Moses used the example of a person claiming refugee status from a fictitious military dictatorship called Ruatania "which shoots monks in the street".

Classified information suggested illegal activity but the claimant was unable to rebut it or question its veracity because he could not be told the source or nature of the information.

"It is a Kafka-esque nightmare and the society remains fundamentally uncomfortable with that approach."

Under the new law detention is no longer automatic, but the current law provides for automatic detention once a security risk certificate is issued.

Mr Moses said the special advocates' legal duties to such clients would be compromised by the bill, because of the restrictions on their ability to fully communicate with their client once the advocate knew the details of the information.

The bill, which will form the basic framework of future immigration decisions, also strengthens border protection, including allowing biometric testing before someone boards a plane to New Zealand, and streamlines and clarifies the process for deportation.

Mr Moses also said the bill gave very broad powers to immigration officials - including of detention - and said an Immigration Commissioner was needed to monitor the use of those powers and investigate any complaints of their abuse.

(Source Claire Trevett)