Covid-19: Immigration Issues
The closure of New Zealand borders means the tourism industry, and in particular Queenstown, has been hit hard.
Tourists are no longer allowed to enter New Zealand’s borders. Lack of tourists means lack of work, and tourists who are already here on a working visa are facing job losses.
Proposed Changes to Temporary Work Visas
On 18 December 2018, the Government announced a set of proposed changes to the employer-assisted temporary work visa settings for consultation. The consultation process will close on 18 March 2019.
Employer role increasing in Visa applications
The days where employers could leave it up to their migrant workers to obtain the appropriate visa from Immigration New Zealand (“INZ”) have ended. Consequences for employers who get it wrong includes losing the ability to hire migrant workers altogether. Below are some common issues we see.
Good Faith Obligations for Employers
When we act for an employee in a dispute we quite often hear the employer say that they have lost “trust and confidence” in that employee to carry out their job as required.
The opposite can be true, where an employee may say that they have “lost trust and confidence” in an employer to say, keep them safe in the workplace.
Permanent Resident Visas - what you need to know
If you currently have a Resident Visa the next step you may be considering is obtaining a Permanent Resident Visa. This would allow you to remain in New Zealand indefinitely and mean that you did not have any travel conditions attached to your visa, enabling you to travel in and out of New Zealand as and when you liked, whilst still remaining a Permanent Resident. If you aren’t eligible for Permanent Residency just yet, but are looking at travelling overseas on your Resident Visa, this comes as a timely reminder to assess your options and make sure you are familiar with the travel conditions that come with your visa.
