Immigration NZ has released a summary of recent key operational and policy updates about the immigration system. Please note this is not an exhaustive list of updates. For more information about any of the updates below, please visit the relevant page on Immigration New Zealand’s (INZ’s) website.
You can also check out our announcements, media releases, stories, and common topics on our News Centre on the INZ website.
12 APRIL 2024
Immigration New Zealand is aware that some employers, or their representatives, are experiencing issues when attempting to remove someone's shared access to their employer accreditation records in Immigration Online. If you are unable to use the ‘remove access’ function, you can call our Customer Service Centre on 0800 542 469 who can stop sharing these records on your behalf.
7 APRIL 2024
Changes to the Accredited Employer Work Visa (AEWV) were announced on 7 April 2024. Many of the changes apply to current AEWV holders and new applicants, as well as employers. For current AEWV holders, these changes could affect the length of time they are allowed to stay in New Zealand. For new applicants, there will be a new minimum skill requirement, minimum standard of English requirement, and shorter visa length and stay in New Zealand for some jobs. Please see the INZ website for the full details.
Check the tables on this web page to find out the length of someone’s maximum continuous stay and how much time they must spend outside New Zealand.
2 APRIL 2024
From 11 April 2024, new tools have been made available to INZ to address lower level immigration non-compliance by the smaller number of employers who are not following the rules. These tools will enable INZ to issue an infringement notice to employers who are found to be employing people in breach of their visa conditions, employing people unlawfully in New Zealand, or failing to comply with a 10-day information request. More information on the infringement scheme is available on the Media Releases page on the INZ website.
12 MARCH 2024
The List of Qualifications Exempt from Assessment (LQEA) has been updated to include more countries and also includes changes to countries already on the list. The INZ website contains information on the countries that are affected.
KEY STATISTICS
Statistics about visa application processing and decisions for some of INZ’s key visa categories are listed below, and are correct as at 17 April 2024 unless otherwise stated. Processing timeframes are based on applications decided in March 2024, unless otherwise stated.
AEWV
INZ has received 36,594 employer accreditation applications since applications opened on 23 May 2022.
Job Check applications opened on 20 June 2022. INZ has received 69,783 applications, equating to 304,410 jobs. Of those, 65,834 Job Check applications have been approved, equating to 286,948 jobs.
INZ has received 129,173 work visa applications and approved 117,929 since applications opened on 4 July 2022.
Our website contains current processing estimates for all three AEWV gateways. The timeframes shown for AEWV, Employer Accreditation and Job Check applications made before 7 April 2024 are based on 80% of applications made in March 2024. Due to changes made to the Accredited Employer Work Visa (AEWV) on 7 April 2024, the timeframes shown for AEWV, Employer Accreditation and Job Check applications made on or after 7 April 2024 are best estimates only.
You can read more about AEWV on the INZ website. We publish fortnightly statistics and information updates to this page: Accredited Employer Work Visa (AEWV) | Immigration New Zealand
