Filipino News 164

14 ISSUE 164 TRABAHO | www.filipinonews.nz | email: filipinonews@xtra.co.nz | www.pinoynzlife.nz | MOB: 027 495 8477
www.migrantnews.nz : New Zealand’s first MULTICULTURAL newspaper. Published since 1991.
Nurses eligible for immediate
residency under immigration changes
Nurses, midwives and
any specialist doctors not
already eligible will be
added to the straight-toresidence
pathway among
a range of new immigration
settings announced by
Immigration Minister
Michael Wood.
They will be able to enter
the country under the new
setting from this Thursday,
15 December.
A Specific Purpose work
visa will also be added to
help keep about 2500 critical
workers in the country
for up to three years, and a
12-month Open Work Visa
for the roughly 1800 people
who had been on Post
Study Work Visas but
missed out when the border
closed.
Teachers, drainlayers,
mechanics and other roles
are also being added to the
Green List, while bus and
truck drivers will be eligible
for a new temporary
residence pathway.
Employer accreditation
is also being extended by a
year for those whose first
accreditation is for before
4 July next year.
This effectively means
employers will be accredited
for two years from the
start instead of having a
one-off one-year accreditation.
Wood said accreditation
requirements would also
not be extended to all other
employers, as had previously
been proposed.
He announced the moves
alongside Prime Minister
Jacinda Ardern following
Monday's Cabinet meeting.
A total 10 roles were
being added to the Green
List, he said.
"As part of our signalled
review, we are expanding
Restaurants across New
Zealand are having to reduce
hours or close altogether
because highly qualified
chefs are being turned away
due to an immigration technicality,
National’s Immigration
spokesperson Erica
Stanford says.
“Staff shortages are ham-
Prime Minister Jacinda Arden and Immigration Minister Michael Wood
Photo: RNZ / Angus Dreaver
Added to Green List straight-to-residence
path:
Registered nurses (on 15 December
2022)
Midwives (on 15 December 2022)
Specialist doctors not already on the
Green List (on 15 December 2022)
Registered Auditors (from March 2023)
Added to Green List work-to-residence
path from March:
Civil construction supervisors
the Green List settings to
include more professions
in our healthcare, education
and construction sectors,
to give a competitive
edge in a highly competitive
global environment,"
he said.
"Since the pandemic
3474 nurses have arrived
in country, but it's clear we
need to do more to encourage
nurses to choose New
Zealand. Adding these
roles will further build on
the attractiveness of New
Zealand to those looking to
set themselves and their
families up long term."
Health worker changes
months after system
brought in
The government has
faced heavy criticism for
Green list changes
not including nurses on the
straight-to-residence pathway
since it announced its
immigration reset in May.
Wood committed in July
to monitor the settings for
nurses.
Ardern quoted the
World Health Organisation's
estimate the globe
was likely to be short by 10
million health workers by
2030, and said New
Zealand already had one of
the easiest pathways for
nurses to live and work.
"But in a crowded market
let's make the message
even simpler. Our message
to nurses everywhere: we
are the best place to live,
work and play, you will be
able to seek immediate residence.
mering New Zealand’s hospitality
industry. Yet, under
the current immigration settings,
all migrant chefs must
hold a ‘level four qualification’
regardless of their
experience.
“While Kiwi businesses
continue to suffer, highquality
chefs with experience
working in some of the
world’s top restaurants
aren’t allowed to come here
due to a technicality.
“This is a problem that
Immigration Minister
Michael Wood could fix
today with the stroke of a
pen. However, nothing has
changed two months after
Gasfitters
Drain layers
Skilled crane operators
Skilled civil machine operators
Halal slaughterers
Skilled motor mechanics
Skilled telecommunications technicians
All secondary school teachers (some
specialisations already on the Green
List)
Primary school teachers
"With wages growing
faster than inflation and
with the ninth-lowest inflation
out of 38 OECD countries,
we have much to
offer."
Record numbers of nurses
had been applying to
work in New Zealand but
the government had been
asked to simplify things,
she said.
"We were attracting
nurses, we want to get
ahead of the issue though."
The perception overall
that the immigration settings
were to blame for the
labour shortage was not
the whole story, Ardern
said.
"That means having
decent wages, decent conditions,
and a great place
the Minister met with
Hospitality New Zealand
which pleaded with him to
make changes.
“This is a simple fix that
would alleviate significant
pressure on restaurants. As
restaurants in Queenstown
struggle to even open
throughout the week for
to live and work. New
Zealand has that, this is
about marketing ourselves
successfully, not just about
immigration settings.
"I think it would be
wrong to say it's simply
about the rules, there's a
number of roles all ready
to be filled."
Wood said it was a significant
simplification
compared to the pre-pandemic
settings, which only
a small subset of nurses
would have been eligible
for residency under.
He said the whole world
was experiencing labour
shortages, and the government
had already
approved more than
94,000 roles for international
recruitment and
40,000 working holiday
visas, as well as the largest
increase to the RSE
scheme in a decade.
However, a shortage of
employees was still the
biggest problem businesses
were grappling with and
the measures announced
today would help, he said.
"While some commentators
are suggesting that
our labour market is starting
to lose some of its heat,
we are continuing to pull
out all the stops to position
ourselves ahead of the
pack," he said.
"We are supporting
those businesses and sectors
feeling these shortages
more acutely, like our
healthcare workforce, with
a mind to preparing for the
year ahead."
Changes for other sectors
The deal for bus and
truck drivers comes after
Cabinet today agreed in
principle they would be
able to access a time-limited
two-year residence.
It would be set up
through a sector agreement
which is still being
Government needs to make changes to bring in chefs
developed by officials in
consultation with the
transport sector.
"The agreement will
support our work under
way to improve better
wages and conditions for
bus drivers and local
workforce development,"
Wood said.
"This will help relieve
the national driver shortage,
helping Kiwis and
goods get to where they
need to go."
The sector agreement is
similar to those in place for
other industries including
construction, seafood, aged
care, meat processing, seasonal
snow, and adventure
tourism.
The Specific Purpose
visa would be for longterm
workers who played
an important role during
the Covid-19 pandemic but
were ineligible for the 2021
Resident Visa.
It would allow them to
continue in their current
role for up to three years.
The Open Work Visa
would available to people
who had a Post Study
Work Visa but were unable
to use it after the border
closed. These people would
be able to enter and work
in New Zealand for up to a
year if not already on
another visa.
Wood said the Green
List "has been under constant
review" and would
be next reviewed in the
middle of next year.
He could not say how
many people would be
expected to come into New
Zealand on the new settings,
saying the system
was geared towards identifying
whether there was a
need for more labour.
He said the rebalance
was about turning away
from "what was a pretty
unregulated system previously".
tourists, the Government
must make changes immediately
to allow experienced
chefs into New Zealand.
“The hospitality sector has
been battered by closed borders
and Covid restrictions
for nearly three years. But
now, when workers and
chefs are desperately needed,
the
Government
continues to
hold them
back based
on a ridiculous
technicality
that
could be
changed
immediately.”
National’s
Immigration
spokesperson
Erica Stanford