Indian Newslink 1st February 2017 Digital Edition

14 Businesslink
FEBRUARY 1, 2017
New Migrant Policy disturbs
Chinese values
Dr Liangni Sally Liu
Government policy
changes in New Zealand
and China are creating
pressures for only-child
migrants from China who
face difficult decisions juggling new
lives with cultural expectations to care
for ageing parents.
A policy change constraining
Chinese migrant families sponsoring
elderly parents to immigrate to New
Zealand is akin to ‘rewriting traditional
Chinese cultural practice and the family
norm of unification.’
As well as New Zealand’s tightened
policy, Chinese families are anxious
about China’s revised legislation
requiring children to visit parents more
regularly or risk being sued.
About half of New Zealand’s
171,411 Chinese residents were born in
China, according to the 2013 Census,
with many migrants and their parents
making up a significant proportion of
the country’s Chinese-born population.
Temporary closure
New Zealand’s 2016 policy change
has temporarily closed the Parent Category
to receive any more applications.
Whether this category will be open
again for applications is uncertain.
While some adult migrants bring
their elderly parents here for retirement,
others come to support their adult children’s
career development by providing
care for their grandchildren.
In return, adult migrant children
assume responsibility for supporting
their parents when they are unable to
live on their own.
Many Chinese adult migrants are a
part of a new trend of becoming global
citizens. They may have multiple
residencies, business connections and
children who opt to live and study in
other countries.
But the care of elderly parents is
becoming problematic.
Family reunification
Before the new restrictions, New
Zealand’s policy had supported family
unification, as it recognised the value
of skilled migrants to the New Zealand
economy as well as the benefits
of extended families and multiple
generations being together.
The increasing costs of elder care to
the New Zealand taxpayer are part of
the rationale for the new restrictions.
This policy change is particularly
challenging for many Chinese migrant
families because of a strong tradition
of filial piety in Chinese culture, which
requires the adult children to provide
daily care for their elderly parents.
The high proportion of Chinese
parents admitted over the last three
decades reflects this cultural factor.
Social stigma
A lack of welfare and the cultural
stigma about placing elderly people
in rest homes in China adds to the
complexity of the issue.
As a Chinese migrant facing difficulties
in arranging care for my ageing
parents in China, I have a personal as
well as academic interest in the issue.
After working in New Zealand for
many years, I discovered that the new
immigration policy blocked my parents
from moving here.
The feeling is like a betrayal.
I am a New Zealand citizen like
many other locals, but the new policy
creates two classes of citizens – one
class is those who can enjoy a family
life, while the other is not able to. As
the only child in my family, taking care
of my parents is a serious issue.
Unlike Chinese migrants of early
last century who were motivated by
economic factors, most migrants from
China today seek a better lifestyle,
advanced education system, and the
securing of foreign passports.
Attractive New Zealand
Many of the 50 new Chinese migrants
I have interviewed say that they
are attracted to this country because
they perceive it as “safe, liberal, and
easy-going. Politically, it is democratic
and the stable government is perceived
as better than China’s. In practice, the
entry criteria and living costs are lower
than other ‘white settler’ countries. The
great natural environment, advanced
education system, and the welfare
system are also attractive.”
My research will provide fresh understandings
of how migrants extended
and multi-generational families from
China adapt to New Zealand.
I use a novel three-generation
framework encompassing migrants,
their children and parents to investigate
how migratory mobility and intergenerational
dynamics affect individual
family members and shape migrants’
family life and sense of identity and
belonging.
Dr Liangni Sally Liu is a Lecturer
in Chinese programme in the School
of Humanities, Massey University.
In her three-year Marsden-funded
study, titled ‘Floating families? New
Chinese migrants in New Zealand and
their multi-generational families,’ she
takes the policy changes described in
the above article as a starting point
for exploring the changing dynamics
of New Zealand’s growing number of
Chinese migrant families.
Expect a tougher
Skilled Migrant regime
Dwelling consent numbers fall
The number of new residential
dwelling consents issued fell
sharply in November, down
9.2%. While the recent Kaikoura
earthquake may be playing some
role, the result also reflected a normal
pull-back following earlier strength.
We will be watching next month’s
figures for more definite signs about
how the recent earthquakes have
affected building.
Over the year, dwelling consent
issuance was up 5%.
Looking into the regional breakdown
of consents, we see that dwelling
consent issuance in Auckland is up 6%
over the month, taking the total number
of new dwellings consented over the
past year to just over 10,100.
This is still below the level Auckland
needs in light of the region’s strong
population growth and existing housing
shortage.
More concerning, the trend in
dwelling consent issuance in Auckland
appears to have flattened off.
In Canterbury, dwelling consent issuance
did pick up by 6% over the month.
However, residential construction has
taken a noticeable step down over
the past year as the housing stock has
been rebuilt. We expect this trend will
continue over the coming year.
Consent issuance fell sharply in
Wellington.
While some of this may be due to
earthquake related disruptions, this
follows strong issuance in the past few
months (including a large number of
apartments) which could have been
expected to ease regardless.
The value of non-residential consent
issued rose 3% over the past year, with
just under $6 billon of work consented.
Gurjinder Singh
The new regime of Skilled
Migrants Category (SMC) is
likely to affect thousands of
people who are in New Zealand
as migrant workers or international
students.
The changes are a response to
concerns that the current system does
not effectively prioritise migrants with
skills and salary levels.
The proposed changes would
introduce the use of salary levels and
strengthen the use of work experience
to define skilled employment; and
realign the points system to recognise
highly skilled migrants better.
Those planning to seek permanent
residence status after completion of
their study or work experience ranging
between two and three years would find
it difficult to do so.
Many Chefs, ethnic restaurants and
cafe managers could also find their
jobs excluded from the SMC with
the introduction of a new minimum
salary or wage level and skilled-based
experience.
The current scenario
Currently, to claim points for skilled
employment, applicants must have a
job (or job offer) in an occupation at the
Australian New Zealand Standard Classification
of Occupations (ANZSCO)
Level 1, 2, or 3. The focus is/was on
occupation not on the skills needed to
perform that job.
There are examples of migrants in
highly paid positions who are unable to
use the SMC because their job description
matches a low-skilled occupation
under the present criteria. An Area
Manager in a fast food franchise does
not qualify for residency in comparison
to a motor mechanic or a baker.
Higher salary
The proposed changes introduce an
additional requirement of a minimum
salary or wage level. The suggested
new minimum salary range is from
$47,486 to say $57,000 for 40 hours of
weekly work.
This would exclude migrants in
lower-income jobs from being able
to apply for residency. This change
would mostly affect migrant’s workers
working around $30,000 per annum.
Migrants earning $70,000 or more
and applicants with postgraduate
qualifications and skilled workers with
experience will gain additional points.
Immigration New Zealand may
require skilled workers, regardless of
their qualifications, to complete at least
three years of continuous employment
in New Zealand. This would also apply
to professionals such as chefs.
What is the aim?
Under the proposed changes high
salary, skilled work experience and
higher-level of qualifications would be
given greater preference in the points
system.
Gurjinder Singh is a Licensed Immigration
Advisor and an Enrolled
Barrister & Solicitor (NPC) based in
Papatoetoe, Auckland.