31/10/13 - NZ No 5 on world prosperity list

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New Zealand has been rated the fifth most prosperous nation to live in, according to an international report.

The 2013 Legatum Prosperity Index ranks 142 nations on their "wealth and wellbeing" in eight categories, including health, education, safety and security, and economy.

Some findings are;

• New Zealand scored in the top 20 for all categories, coming out fifth overall, but slipped two places since the last Legatum Prosperity Index was published in 2009.
• This year, the US has moved down four places to 24th in the Economy sub-index. Countries that have overtaken the US in the Economy sub-index include New Zealand (17th) and South Korea (19th), among others.
• The top ten countries include Sweden (1st), Denmark (2nd), Finland (3rd), Switzerland (4th), Luxembourg (5th), Norway (6th), Iceland (7th), Netherlands (8th), and United Kingdom (9th). Hong Kong makes up the top 10, placing 10th in the sub-index.
• The UK has moved down three places to 16th in overall Prosperity, as a result of decreases in the rankings for six out eight sub-indices since last year. The UK has been leapfrogged by Austria (15th), Germany (14th), and Iceland (13th).

The report's publishers said one of the largest shifts between the two reports was in the safety and security category, where New Zealand dropped from eighth to 15th place. This was "due to increases in demographic pressures, human immigration and group grievances".

The Legatum Prosperity Index is published by the London-based Legatum Institute, which provides research on different economic and social issues around the world.

The institute's parent company was founded by Kiwi billionaire Christopher Chandler in 2006.

Click here to see the report

(Source APNZ)

18/10/13 - Nine Afghan interpreters offered resettlement

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Immigration Minister Michael Woodhouse has announced his decision to grant New Zealand residence to nine Afghan interpreters and 26 family members.

“Local interpreters worked on the front lines with New Zealand personnel in Afghanistan.

The Government recognises its duty of care to these men and their wives and children, and is committed to fulfilling that duty,” Mr Woodhouse says.

“Our brave New Zealand forces put themselves in harm’s way in a foreign country to help the people of Afghanistan. In turn, these local interpreters worked side-by-side with New Zealanders towards the same goal.”

New Zealand resettled 30 Afghan interpreters and 64 family members in April this year under a package agreed by Cabinet in December 2012.

The package was open to interpreters who had worked for the New Zealand-led Provincial Reconstruction Team (PRT) within the previous two years.

Those who fell outside the package requirements but believed they had a case to come to New Zealand were invited to write to the Immigration Minister requesting residence as an exception to normal policy.

“These nine interpreters took up that invitation. After considering their service and circumstances, my decision now clears the way for them and their families to join their former colleagues and become first generation New Zealanders.”

The government will arrange travel from Afghanistan to New Zealand. The families will spend their first six weeks at the Mangere Refugee Resettlement Centre, undertaking a comprehensive programme in preparation for their new lives.

Mr Woodhouse says the 94 Afghans that arrived in April also spent their first weeks at Mangere and are generally settling in well, gaining benefit from both their command of English and the time spent in the company of Kiwi troops.

“I’m confident these new families will also settle well in their new communities, and I’ve asked officials to prioritise these cases. However, there is a lot of work in relocating whole families from Afghanistan, and arrangements will be made to bring these families here as soon as possible over the coming months.”

(Source Beehive, MWoodhouse)

05/10/13 - New Zealand has benefited from temporary migration

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A new report commissioned by New Zealand's Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment has found that temporary immigration has had, overall, a positive effect on employment and wages for native New Zealand workers.

The report looked at figures gathered by Statistics New Zealand and New Zealand's Inland Revenue to compare the wages and rates of employment of New Zealanders over the decade running from 2001 to 2011.

The report examined the impact of all temporary workers on the New Zealand economy. Temporary workers include

• Students – many students in New Zealand are allowed to work for ten or twenty hours per week
• Those working in New Zealand on Essential Skills work visas – The Essential Skills work visa allows workers from overseas to work in New Zealand providing their employer has made a genuine effort to find a New Zealand worker to fill the vacancy but could not find one
• Working holidaymakers – New Zealand has reciprocal arrangements with 40 countries including many in Europe, North and South America allowing young people (usually aged between 18 and 30) to live and work in New Zealand for one year to fifteen months. Those from the UK can stay for up to two years
• Seasonal agricultural workers - New Zealand's horticulture and viticulture industries require a great deal of manual labour. Those carrying out this work, often coming from East Asia, travel to New Zealand on temporary work visas
• Family members of other migrants – Partners of people who are in New Zealand with temporary work visas can apply for temporary work visas. If successful, these visas will last for the same time as the partner's visa.

Temporary work quadruples since 2001

The report estimated the total number of months worked in New Zealand in 2001 and calculated that only 1% of the total was carried out by temporary workers. By 2009, this percentage had risen to 4.6%. The percentage has dropped since then as the number of economic migrants has fallen.

Temporary workers now account for 4.3% of hours worked.

The report writers note that there were considerable changes in New Zealand over this decade. At the beginning of the decade the UK and Ireland were the two major source countries for New Zealand temporary migrants. By 2006, China was the main source country and by 2008, India was the leading country.

However, throughout the decade the data seems to show that New Zealanders have not been disadvantaged. The report's writers say 'the research was unable to find any evidence that [employment of temporary migrants] had adverse consequences for the employment of New Zealanders overall'.

Many temporary workers working in agriculture

The report found that growth in the horticulture and viticulture sector had led to growth in ancillary sectors such as agriculture and fishing support services (which grew by 46%), employment services (64%) and packaging services (83%).

In these sectors, temporary migrant employment accounted for between 25 and 50% of new jobs but, because the sectors grew so much, there were still extra jobs for New Zealanders.

There was some evidence that younger New Zealanders may have lost employment opportunities to migrant workers.

New Zealand labour market 'has always relied on overseas workers'

Responding to the publication of the report, New Zealand immigration minister Michael Woodhouse said 'New Zealanders should be given first priority for jobs, but our labour market has always relied on overseas workers to fill certain gaps and in areas of particular skill shortages.

Immigration is an important economic lever, and this report supports the view that policy settings around temporary migration are broadly in the right space'.

If you would like to apply for a NZ temporary or permanent visa, Terra Nova Consultancy Ltd can help. Terra Nova Consultancy Ltd is a specialist visa consultancy with over 12 years of experience. We can help with a wide range of visa applications to New Zealand. Please feel free to contact us for further details.

(Source Statistics New Zealand)

03/10/13 - Bill to tackle migrant exploitation introduced

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Immigration Minister Michael Woodhouse today introduced a new Bill to Parliament that will crack down on employers who exploit migrant workers.

Under the Immigration Amendment Bill such employers will face a jail sentence of up to seven years, a fine not exceeding $100,000, or both. Exploitative employers who hold residence visas will also be liable for deportation if the offence was committed within 10 years of gaining residence.

Mr Woodhouse says the penalties reflect the seriousness of such offences and the tough action the Government is taking to tackle migrant exploitation.

“The fundamental and overriding principle is that migrant workers have the same employment rights and protections as all other workers in New Zealand,” Mr Woodhouse says.

“We are only too aware that some employers exploit their migrant workers by paying them less than the minimum wage or making them work excessive hours. Sadly, in many cases the employer is a migrant themselves and taking advantage of vulnerable people from their own community.

“This type of activity is illegal and will not be tolerated in New Zealand. This Bill represents further measures as we move to stamp out this abhorrent practice.”

The Immigration Amendment Bill forms part of a package to address migrant exploitation and follows policy changes in June that encourage victims of exploitation to come forward without fear of being penalised.

The Bill also extends the search powers of immigration officers so they can search an employer’s premises and talk to the people present to identify offending by employers. They will also be able to search for unlawful workers, check documents and ensure migrant employees are complying with the Act.

(Source Beehive, MWoodhouse)

23/08/13 - 2013 NZAMI Annual Conference opening address

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Good morning and thank you for asking me along to speak to your conference today.

I want to start by acknowledging Peter Townsend, MC for the Conference, and Walter Stone, Chairman of your Association. It’s very important for me to come here to address you as members of New Zealand’s largest immigration adviser association. Developing and maintaining a good relationship with key stakeholders such as the NZAMI is crucial in ensuring we work as collegially and constructively as possible towards our goal of bringing the best people to New Zealand.

Today I want to touch on a number of issues I’ve been working on since I became Minister of Immigration in January and to outline some of my priorities in this key portfolio.  

My first speech as Minister was to the NZAMI seminar in Christchurch in February where I focused on the Canterbury rebuild so it’s appropriate that I should give a progress report. As you are aware there has been increasing debate and media coverage in recent weeks about the part New Zealanders are playing in the rebuild.

I have always acknowledged that despite Government, business and training organisations’ efforts in gearing up the kiwi workforce, the sheer size of the rebuild means we will need workers from overseas to fill certain gaps. It is after all the biggest economic undertaking in New Zealand’s recent history. But as with every other immigration policy I want to make it clear that jobs for New Zealanders will always be the number one priority.

You may have seen the headlines about businesses using migrant workers because they are cheaper than local builders, claims that subcontracting to local building firms is too expensive and companies boosting their recruitment of skilled trade migrants because of a shortage of New Zealand workers. I have worked with my Immigration officials to establish the veracity of those claims and not found evidence that this is the case, even with the companies named.

I strongly believe that the establishment of the Canterbury Skills and Employment Hub earlier this year has helped ensure New Zealanders are first in line for job vacancies created during the rebuild. The fact that visa applications to fill most jobs in Canterbury will not be processed until a check has been done to ensure there are no suitable New Zealanders for the vacancy has provided more certainty for employers and migrants.

The success of this approach is shown by the latest figures showing that the Hub has more than 12-hundred registered employers, more than three and a half thousand registered job seekers and more than 450 active vacancies.

We know that the Hub will not be the answer for every employer, especially those in areas requiring specialist skills and expertise. This is where the Canterbury Skill Shortage List comes in as it highlights occupations in shortage that are needed during the rebuild, and facilitates the grant of work visas for those jobs.

This approach fits in with the focus this Government has on ensuring that employers are able to have the labour they need as quickly as possible. The list is being reviewed regularly to ensure that it is as up-to-date and accurate as possible and in fact the latest review is taking place right now.

I am confident that the policies and tools we have in place in Canterbury are giving New Zealanders every opportunity of getting work first while ensuring we can attract overseas workers in areas of need and that the processes in place are as smooth as possible.

I want to share with you my thoughts on the ‘Kiwis first’ policy in the context of migrant labour because there is debate about the number of overseas workers in our workforce and this raises a number of issues.

The broader context to that debate is simply this: the opposition often cries “Where are the jobs?” And they do so at a time when, for every Kiwi receiving an unemployment benefit there are between 3 and 4 foreign nationals working in New Zealand on various types of visas.  So what many of those who ask “where are the jobs?” are really saying is “where are the jobs that are in exactly the place I want, doing the type of work I want, paying what I think I should earn and tolerating all of my shortcomings”. 

And the employers who say that prospective kiwi employees are too hard to train, have bad attitudes and are generally unhappy with the quality of some of the New Zealanders they have been offered by Work and Income need to also reflect on their efforts. I appreciate that employers might not always get exactly what they want, and I acknowledge that for some young New Zealanders there are barriers to employment. 

Four barriers spring to mind: education and skills, mobility, attitude and recreational drug and alcohol use.  But they are barriers to overcome, not immoveable impediments.  In the short term migrant labour will ease this problem, but I get the feeling that some employers and some industries have become overly reliant on this as a long-term salve. 

In the future I expect industries that are successful in having an occupation added to a Skills in Demand list, or an employer granted an Approval in Principal to employ temporary migrant labour will, as a condition of the continuation of that status, be more energetic in working with Government to find a long term solution, and more diligent in demonstrating to me that they are doing all they can to ease their labour shortages domestically.

I won’t constrain a firm’s ability to grow in the short term, but I will be encouraging and expecting them to invest in New Zealanders by up skilling and training them so they have an opportunity to maximise their potential. 

It is critical to our international reputation that the overseas workers we do attract here are treated properly. The fundamental and overriding principle is that migrant workers have the same employment rights as New Zealanders.

Any exploitation of migrant workers is completely unacceptable. The Government has been clear from the outset that more needs to be done to stamp out this abhorrent practice. I’m optimistic that the changes we made in June to encourage victims of exploitation to come forward will pay dividends.

We’re also planning to introduce an amendment to the Immigration Act in the next few weeks to make it a specific offence to exploit migrants who hold temporary work visas. The proposed penalty will reflect the seriousness of the offence – a jail sentence of up to seven years, a fine not exceeding $100,000, or both. In some cases exploitative employers will be deported back to their country of origin.

The Government recognises that it is in everyone’s interests to take firm and decisive action to deal with this issue. The Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment holds the same view and I have been pleased with the success of the joint operations carried out by Immigration New Zealand and the Labour Inspectorate with other agencies around the country.

A couple of recent examples spring to mind – the investigation of an Indian restaurant chain in Auckland over allegations of worker exploitation and wages as low as $4 an hour and four vineyard employers being taken to the Employment Relations Authority after investigators found breaches of employment and immigration law.

It is vitally important that migrant workers are given all the tools they need when they come here to prepare for their time in new Zealand. They are a particularly vulnerable part of the workforce as they are less likely to be aware of their rights and entitlements than their New Zealand colleagues.

Immigration New Zealand has done some commendable work in this area. The practical guides already produced for migrants working in the dairy and construction industries contain a wealth of information and tips. I look forward to similar guides being produced for other industries that rely heavily on migrant labour.

I want to turn now to another area which has been the subject of considerable political and media discussion this year - the thorny issue of asylum seekers. I know there was some concern when the Immigration Amendment Bill passed into law in June, particularly around the detention provisions.

I want to reiterate that the legislation does not introduce arbitrary or indefinite detention and does not breach our international obligations to asylum seekers. Having the ability to detain people being smuggled into New Zealand is vital to give agencies time to establish and confirm identities, and assess whether an individual poses a risk to national security or public safety.

The legislation ensures we have measures in place to effectively manage a mass arrival and sends a clear message to potential people smuggling ventures that New Zealand is not a soft touch.

I know many commentators and our political opponents remain sceptical about the likelihood of a mass arrival but there’s no doubt in my mind that New Zealand is a growing target and I make no apology for passing legislation to manage such an event. The Australian Government’s recent announcement that all asylum seekers will be processed in Papua New Guinea may, if implemented, make that threat more real.

Our political opponents have accused us of using the mass arrivals legislation to reduce our commitment to providing support to refugees and asylum seekers. Nothing could be further from the truth. While we are taking firm and decisive action to deal with a mass arrival we are strongly committed to helping and supporting genuine refugees.

There’s no better illustration of this than the decision to rebuild the Māngere Refugee Resettlement Centre following a $5.5 million Government commitment of operating expenditure over the next four years. Many of the buildings at Māngere are beyond repair and need to be replaced so something had to be done.

The new facility will be a huge improvement and the provision to accommodate up to 300 individuals in the event of a mass arrival will further help us manage such an event. Our commitment to resettling refugees and ensuring the best possible outcomes for them is unwavering.

The whole-of-government Refugee Resettlement Strategy launched last December has this over-riding target at its core. The Strategy contains some very challenging goals such as increasing the number of refugees in paid employment and increasing their educational achievement.

We have an enviable reputation internationally for our work in resettling refugees from the world’s trouble spots and we want to do all we can to ensure that they are given the tools to make the best possible contribution to their new life here.

One of our other priorities is continuing to attract people with the commercial nous, experience and global networks to boost the economy. The success of the investor migration scheme is a perfect illustration of having the right policies in place. More than $1.6 billion of potential investment capital has been attracted since the scheme was launched in July 2009 and our policies are consistently attracting over 500 new migrants a year who are establishing new, or growing existing, businesses in New Zealand.

A flow on effect from attracting the right business migrants has been the creation of more jobs for New Zealanders and therefore playing a significant and crucial part in the Government’s Growth Agenda.

But we’re not resting on our laurels. You’ll be aware that the Ministry has been reviewing business and investor migration policies and I’m planning to take a paper to Cabinet soon. I want to ensure that these policies are making the best possible contribution to New Zealand and that the businesses being created by business migrants have good growth prospects, are innovative and enable New Zealand to tap into the skills and capital migrants bring.

I’m keen to ensure we have policies to revitalise the regions and increase investment in areas outside the big cities. I know officials have been consulting with your members and others and I’m looking forward to sharing details with you when the policies are finalised – likely to be before the end of this year.

It’s been pleasing for me to see the sustained improvement in the timeliness of processing, the quality of decision-making and customer service. I am confident that the move to online transactions enabled by the new ICT system Immigration Online will result in an even better service to the customer.

Immigration Online has a central role to play in achieving INZ’s vision of being recognised as a trusted partner, delivering outstanding immigration services and bringing in the best people New Zealand needs to prosper, but it’s only part of the story. INZ’s new Global Service Delivery Model will also help speed up visa processing and improve the consistency of decisions.  You have a part to play in ensuring those goals are met.

The concept of trusted partnership is a key element of Immigration New Zealand’s Vision 2015. NZAMI and its members are amongst our trusted partners. I know you work in the interests of your clients and also want to build successful businesses. 

I’m also confident you understand the Governments goals for growth and the part good immigration policy and processes will play in meeting that challenge, and will work towards building on that partnership.

I am confident we are heading in the right direction to having the edge for attracting the right talent to choose New Zealand as their preferred destination.

Thank you for the work you do and for inviting me to open your conference.

9Source, Beehive, Michael Woodhouse, Minister of Immigration)

02/04/13 - Study leads to new home for many

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International students are an important source of skilled migrants, and 38 per cent of those who qualified for residency as skilled migrants last year were former international students, Immigration New Zealand says.

Over the past decade, one in five international students gained permanent residency within five years of being issued their first student visa.

Mainly because of Indian international students transitioning to a work visa and then to permanent residence, India is now the largest source country for skilled migrants, overtaking the United Kingdom for the first time.

Following increases in the number of approved international students since 2006, the number last year fell 7 per cent to 68,980.

Tertiary Education Minister Steven Joyce said a 31 per cent fall in enrolments in the Canterbury region contributed to the decline.

Despite the drop, Mr Joyce said, tuition revenue collected by education providers increased 2 per cent to $745.7 million, the most since 2004.

"Despite the elevated New Zealand dollar, our high-quality education sector, together with the lifestyle experience that New Zealand provides for international students, is a combination few other countries can match."

Mr Joyce said poor quality education providers were being weeded out, and immigration settings had been tightened to ensure higher quality students would bring more long-term immigration benefits.

"It's a balancing act - on the one hand you are improving value and quality, and on the other hand you want to maintain and grow student numbers," he said.

Education New Zealand was working on the branding and positioning of New Zealand education "beyond the fact that it's English language, a Commonwealth country and broadly safe".

The minister is going to China this week, and he believes China and India will still be the key to the industry's growth.

But new markets from Southeast Asia, the Middle East and South America were also being targeted.

Last year, Chinese students, who made up 27 per cent of international students in New Zealand, increased by 4 per cent.

Students who complete at least a two-year New Zealand qualification can apply for a graduate job search visa, which would help them transit from study to work and then to residency.

More than half of the nearly 10,000 students on graduate job search visas last year found jobs related to their qualification, and were granted work visas.

A student support worker, who is assisting two Indian students who ran out of money after borrowing large sums to pay for fake job offers to support their residency applications, questions the apparent ease with which those on graduate job search visas find work.

"It is just hard to believe that so many can find jobs, mostly managerial positions, at a time when the unemployment rate is at over 7 per cent and 10 per cent for Asians," said the support worker, who did not want to be named.

AUT University researcher Danae Anderson said she was concerned at the lack of acknowledgment that many international students' primary goal in coming to New Zealand was to work and seek residence.

Her survey of 93 international students working illegally in five Bay of Plenty orchards found students were employed for $8 to $11 an hour and for up to 55 hours a week, breaching minimum wage and their student visa requirements, which allow them to work for only 20 hours a week. Most of these students were Indian men.

"As most are hesitant to be vocal or complain about their treatment, they therefore become an "invisible" workforce, paid under the table and not recorded in ACC statistics and vulnerable to exploitation," Ms Anderson said.

"They are generally exploited within their communities, and are unlikely to come forward as they are breaching their immigration conditions."

She said some ended up in prostitution to support themselves, which ialso breaches student visa requirements.

Ms Anderson said she had also interviewed Indian students who had paid for fake job offers.

International Education Group spokesman Paul Chalmers said a "failure of Immigration and NZQA to effectively manage inflow of visas" allowed poor quality education providers to continue operating.

"The constant erratic policy and operational mismanagement of this sector ... masks a wider issue - the lack of acceptance that many international students are using the opportunity to study in New Zealand to immigrate to this country," he said.

Labour export education spokesman Raymond Huo said the drop in student numbers would have an effect on the wider economy, including public transport usage and homestay providers who depended on homestay fees to help with their mortgage or rent.

Education New Zealand estimates an international student spends about $27,000 annually.

Students spent between $16,000 to $23,000 on living expenses on top of tuition fees.

INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS

• 68,980 - student visas approved last year, 7 per cent drop from 2011
• 25 per cent - drop in first-time students from 2009
• 20 per cent - gained permanent residence within 5 years
• 38 per cent - of skilled migrants were former international students
• $5 billion - Government revenue target for industry in 15 years

Graduate job search visa

• 9955: visas approved to 9939 individuals
• 5205: granted work visa
• 1526: granted other visas
• 3208: not issued another visa

Source: Immigration New Zealand

(Source Lincoln Tan, NZ Herald)

01/04/13 - Asians lead immigration

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Asians are dominating in visitor and international student numbers and in most family-migration categories to New Zealand.

As more New Zealand citizens depart, especially to Australia, this could change the country's social fabric faster than anticipated, Massey University sociologist Paul Spoonley says.

''Asians have moved from being 'a significant number' to 'dominating' most immigration categories,'' Prof Spoonley said.

Over 2011-12, New Zealand had its first net migration loss since 2001 - but combined Asian temporary and permanent arrivals increased.

China by far outnumbered the rest in the visitor and student-visa categories, and had approval numbers more than three times higher than India and the UK in the family-sponsored and parent categories.

Despite the UK still being the biggest source country for permanent residents, Prof Spoonley noted, the combined total from China, India and the Philippines more than doubled the British.

Despite the rapid rise in numbers, it would be decades before Asians would outnumber Pakeha, Prof Spoonley said, but strains were starting to show.

''We also haven't been very good at telling New Zealanders about the positive aspects of immigration.''

He said it was ''hard for people to feel positive'' about immigration during times of high unemployment and economic downturn.

In a recent annual Asia New Zealand Foundation survey, just half felt Asian immigration was positive and a third felt immigrants were taking jobs away.

Prof Spoonley said New Zealand was good at recruiting migrants, but poor in assisting with settlement. Compared with Australia or Canada, support systems and structures for new migrants were lacking here.

New Zealand First says current family migration policy favours the Chinese, and wants a review of the family reunion policy.

Under Immigration's ''centre of gravity'' rule, a parent can be sponsored if the number of adult children living in New Zealand was equal to or exceeded those in any single country. With China's one-child policy, nearly all China nationals who were permanent residents would, therefore, be eligible to sponsor parents.

New Zealand First MP Denis O'Rourke said parents from China filled more than half the total parent-reunion quota, and parent reunion migrants were eligible for superannuation at age 65 after 10 years of residence. Sponsored migrant parents were a burden on health care, superannuation, housing and welfare, he said.

Last July, the parent category was relaunched as a two-tier scheme, where applicants needed at least $65,000 and prove they could bring $500,000 to New Zealand to be in tier one, where applications would be processed faster.

''It appears the new policy has increased the parent application from China even more, with most just transitioned from `centre of gravity' to tier one,'' Mr O'Rourke said.

Figures he obtained showed applicants from the United Kingdom had dropped from 1157 to 637, but Chinese applications rose from 4891 to 5830.

Immigration New Zealand is looking to international students as ''an important source of skilled migrants'', and China, being the largest source country for international students, could soon overtake the UK in the category.

Over the past decade, one in five international students obtained permanent residence visas within five years.

Last year, 38% of skilled immigrants were former international students, with India overtaking Britain as the main source of skilled immigrants.

Prof Spoonley said ''being more generous'' with family migration would encourage more skilled migrants to come and remain here, and he did not agree parents were a burden to New Zealand.

''Studies have shown that, overall, migrants contribute far more to the economy and what they pay in taxes than what they take, including these parents,'' he said.

''They play the role of caregiver to their grandchildren, allowing their children to return to work, and provide the sense of family that would keep their migrant children rooted here.''

Nearly 40% of Aucklanders were born overseas and projections show that Asians could make up 30% of the city's population within eight years.

(Source Lincoln Tan, of the The New Zealand Herald)

14/02/13 - Speech to the NZ Association of Migration and Investment

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Thank you for your warm welcome and thank you all for the opportunity to speak to you today and to meet members of NZAMI.

As New Zealand’s largest immigration adviser association you play a very important part in advising, supporting, advocating and helping migrants with settlement, and I thank you for the good work you do.

You will be aware that consultation is underway on the review of the Immigration Advisers Code of Conduct and licensed advisers have been invited to submit their views.

I feel very privileged to be made the Minister of Immigration and I am excited about the challenges and opportunities ahead. This is my first speech and it’s fitting that I am talking here in Christchurch, as the Canterbury rebuild will be a major focus for me.

Today I want to give you an update on the rebuild and what we as a Government are doing. I would also like to mention some of my other priorities as Minister.

As you know the Government has set itself an ambitious programme of work that will support businesses to grow, in order to create jobs and improve New Zealanders’ standard of living.

This programme, known as the Business Growth Agenda, focusses on six key ‘ingredients’ that businesses need to grow: export markets, innovation, infrastructure, skilled and safe workplaces, natural resources, and capital markets. Each of these areas has its own programme of work and immigration policy informs and supports this agenda.

Like many MPs, immigration enquiries form a significant element of the work done in my out-of-parliament office in Dunedin, and in the past four years, I have observed a material improvement in the service provided by Immigration New Zealand.

I want to acknowledge the work Immigration New Zealand has done and it’s well worth mentioning some of the highlights.

The latest customer satisfaction survey found that 87 per cent of applicants were very satisfied or satisfied with the overall quality of service they received from Immigration New Zealand. This result was significantly higher than the 75 per cent figure in 2011, 73 per cent in 2010 and 70 per cent in 2009.

The survey also found significant improvements in processing times for temporary applications. The average processing time for a visitor or work visa at the 29 branches included in the survey halved between June 2011 and June 2012, and for student visas, it now takes only a third of the time it took a year ago.

The quality of decision-making has gone up from 71 per cent in 2009 to over 90 per cent now and more than 90 per cent of temporary visa applications were decided within 30 days. So all in all I’m taking over the Immigration portfolio with an organisation in good shape.

But there is no room for complacency and I expect Immigration New Zealand’s performance to improve even more as their state of the art Immigration Global Management System (IGMS) and the Global Service Delivery Model are rolled out.

IGMS will provide new online channels for customers to access information and submit applications, and will consolidate back office processing functions. This year customers will start to notice the difference with students and temporary workers able to apply for visas online and a new identity management capability being established.

IGMS is a good example of what the Prime Minister meant when he said that the public sector needs to make greater use of technology to deliver better services. Now, as the new Minister of a portfolio overseeing a major IT implementation, and against the backdrop of another high profile government IT project, you will appreciate that I am focused on ensuring IGMS is delivered as smoothly as possible.

The new Global Service Delivery Model being implemented at the moment will allow INZ to fully realise and maximise the benefits of the Government’s investment in IGMS. The new service delivery model centralises visa processing, rationalises the branch network, simplifies processes, increases online access and includes greater partnership with third parties.

You will be aware that there have already been changes with the establishment of Visa Application Centres, or VACs as they’re known colloquially all over the world.

VACs act as collection agents for visa applications, leaving more time for immigration officers to focus on decision-making. VACs have already been implemented successfully throughout Asia, in the Pacific, the Americas, the United Kingdom and Europe, and are a great example of successful collaboration with specialist third party providers.

Under the new service delivery model, Immigration New Zealand will establish nine hubs for larger scale visa processing as well as a number of small-to-medium size satellite offices. The changes will result in a smarter, leaner and more efficient service.

But it’s all very well having the right systems in place – we also have to have the right policies. As I see it New Zealand is in a global contest: for skills, for tourists, for overseas students looking for high quality education, and for the foreign investment New Zealand sorely needs to invest and grow.

The policies we set and the processes we follow will materially determine how successful our country is in that global contest. My job will be to ensure that we are among the winners in that contest, not also-rans. It’s too early for me to make an assessment of whether the policy settings are as good as they can be, and I’m sure that experts like you in the industry will have a view about that and I will listen carefully.

I also want to reiterate the policy of successive Governments of the ‘New Zealanders first’ policy that my Government strongly supports. The strategies around the Canterbury rebuild are a good example of this.

You will know that a new visa rule has just come into effect which will help ensure New Zealanders are first in line for job vacancies created during the Canterbury rebuild.

There’s no doubt that we will need workers from overseas because of the extent and scale of the rebuild but, as with every other immigration policy, the number one priority is jobs for New Zealanders.

Employers must now register vacancies for trades, clerical and manual occupations in Canterbury with the Canterbury Skills and Employment Hub before they support a visa application for a migrant.

The new rule means visa applications to fill most jobs in Canterbury won’t be processed until a check has been done to ensure there are no suitable New Zealanders to fill the vacancy. The new rule also provides more certainty for employers and migrants as they will know sooner if a work visa application is likely to succeed.

I see the rebuild of Canterbury as an ideal opportunity to provide employment and up skilling for New Zealanders, including beneficiaries and young people, so it’s heartening to see how effective the Skills Hub is already proving to be.

Of course, the situation is constantly changing, but at the end of the first week of February, the Skills Hub already had more than 320 registered employers, over 1000 registered job seekers and 295 active vacancies.

The Skills Hub is not going to be the answer for every employer, especially those in areas requiring specialist skills and expertise. This is where the Canterbury Skill Shortage List comes in.

The list highlights occupations in shortage that are needed during the rebuild in Canterbury, and facilitates the grant of work visas for those jobs. This approach fits in with the focus this Government has on ensuring that employers are able to have the labour they need as quickly as possible.

An up-to-date and accurate Canterbury list means employers do not face unnecessary hurdles in filling critical skill shortages and the Skills Hub can focus on working with employers to fill jobs where suitable New Zealanders may be available.

It is essential that Immigration New Zealand is fully prepared to cope with the demand for visa services that will arise as the rebuild gains momentum over the coming months.

After all, the rebuild is the biggest economic undertaking in New Zealand’s history and processing visas as efficiently as possible is essential to giving prospective workers the sort of introduction to New Zealand we want them to have, and to meet the needs of employers.

I’m confident that Immigration New Zealand has the capacity and expertise to deal with the situation, but I will act quickly if there are any issues that arise as demand ramps up.

Christchurch has a great future and this government is doing what it can to ensure people are attracted here. In addition to the measures I have already outlined we have already moved to increase the number of international students wanting to come to the city by extending work rights to English language students who attend quality education providers in Canterbury.

You don’t need telling that the export education sector in Christchurch has taken a significant hit because of the effects of the earthquakes. This pragmatic move gives prospective international students yet another reason for choosing Christchurch, and has the added potential to stimulate other sectors of the economy.

But while we have all these initiatives in place to boost Christchurch we also have to be on our guard against unscrupulous activities. You will all be aware of the recent media coverage around illegal migrant workers.

I want to make it absolutely clear that it is unacceptable to me for foreign nationals to be working here without work visas.

Employers need to be vigilant when considering employing workers from overseas to ensure that they are legally entitled to work in New Zealand. I encourage them to use Immigration New Zealand’s online tool VisaView to check whether a person who is not a New Zealand citizen is able to work for them.

I would also urge anyone with any information about overseas workers working illegally to get in touch with Immigration New Zealand so that they can investigate and take appropriate action.

The intense work under way in Canterbury is all part of strengthening New Zealand’s contribution to economic growth. Immigration New Zealand is charged with ensuring that we attract the skills and investment we need by working with employers in key sectors to identify, attract and retain highly skilled migrants.

The skills area is one I will be asking plenty of questions about, such as:

• Are the occupations on the essential skills lists truly skilled, and really essential?
• When industries are successful in having occupations added to those lists, is sufficient coordinated effort embarked on by industry, educators and Work and Income to improve domestic supply of workers? and
• Are we setting sufficient expectations on holders of temporary work Visas that those Visas do not automatically lead to residence, avoiding some of the pain and anxiety of the non-renewal of those visas?

The success of the Government’s business migration scheme is illustrated by the attraction of more than $1.3 billion of potential investment capital since it was launched in July 2009.

In my view, there is no better demonstration of the effectiveness of the Government’s policies in attracting people with commercial nous, experience and global networks to boost the economy.

A flow on effect from attracting the right business migrants has been the creation of more jobs for New Zealanders and therefore playing a significant and crucial part in the Government’s Growth Agenda.

It’s these types of innovative policies we need if we’re to attract the sort of people we want to grow the economy and to stay ahead of our competitors in attracting the right people.

We all know that net migration has been negative for a while because of the global economic situation, but we’re hopeful that the situation will change by the middle of next year thanks to the range of policies we have in place.

And we’re not resting on our laurels – many of you will be aware of the current review of business and investor policies to ensure that they’re pitched at the right level to attract the people we want in New Zealand.

We have set two main objectives for this policy review: ensuring that policy requirements maximise the contribution investment funds make to our economy, and incentivising the creation of high value and high growth businesses. These objectives reflect economic development objectives, and ensure that Investor/Business migration policies are primarily about supporting New Zealand’s economic goals.

Thank you again for inviting me and I look forward to liaison with NZAMI in the period ahead.

(Source Beehive, Michael Woodhouse)

19/02/13 - Government acts on Tongan visa cases

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Immigration Minister Michael Woodhouse has asked officials to investigate the whereabouts of Tongan nationals who may have come to New Zealand after their criminal convictions were wrongly stated by Tongan authorities.

“I am extremely concerned about this situation and have asked Immigration New Zealand to place the highest priority on finding any Tongan nationals who have committed serious crimes and should not be in New Zealand,” says Mr Woodhouse.

INZ has completed an initial analysis of 172 names provided by the Tongan authorities and estimate around 40 people may be currently in New Zealand, including some who hold permanent residence. 

“The figures are only provisional at this time and more details will be known over the coming days. I am satisfied the Tongan authorities are now doing everything they can to assist in our investigations.

“While it appears the majority of people on the list have committed only minor offences, it is clear is that a number of Tongan nationals are in New Zealand on the basis of incorrect declarations regarding their criminal convictions.

“It is totally unacceptable for anyone to enter New Zealand by providing misleading information and I am taking this very seriously.

“An immediate hold has been put on Tongan visa applications that require a police clearance until INZ can be satisfied with the integrity of the police clearance process”.

Applications for residence and most work visas need a police certificate, but this is not needed for short term visas such as a visitor visa.

(Source; Beehove, Michael Woodhouse)

28/01/13 - New visa rule to help New Zealanders into Canterbury rebuild jobs

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A new visa rule coming into effect today will help ensure New Zealanders are first in line for job vacancies created during the Canterbury rebuild, says Immigration Minister Nathan Guy.

“The new rule means visa applications to fill most jobs in Canterbury won’t be processed until a check has been done to ensure there are no suitable New Zealanders to fill the vacancy,” says Mr Guy.

“The rule also benefits employers because it streamlines the visa process. Employers will know sooner if a visa application for a migrant worker is likely to succeed.”

From today employers must register vacancies for trades, clerical and manual occupations in Canterbury with the Canterbury Skills and Employment Hub before they support a visa application for a migrant to fill the vacancy.

“If there are suitable New Zealanders available to do the job, the Skills Hub will help put the employer in touch with these candidates.

“If there are not, the Skills Hub will confirm this in a letter that can be sent to Immigration New Zealand along with a visa application for a migrant to be considered to fill the vacancy. The letter means Immigration New Zealand will no longer perform a labour market check (including a referral to Work and Income) as this job will already have been performed by the Skills Hub.

“This will speed up the visa processing time for employers and help towards the rebuild effort,” says Mr Guy.

The rule change affects most jobs in Canterbury, including trades, clerical and manual jobs. It does not affect highly skilled occupations, or occupations on the Canterbury Skills Shortage List.

Employers can register their vacancies online at www.opportunitycanterbury.org.nz.

Contact with the Hub may be made by calling 0800CanHub (0800226482) or emailing This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Staff at the Canterbury Skills Hub and Immigration New Zealand branches worldwide will work with employers to help them adapt to the new rule.

(Source Nathan Guy, Beehive)