A Fresh Look at Immigration

Welcome to our first NZ Life Immigration Blog post. We are so excited to welcome all of our new clients and prospective clients, and we hope that you will enjoy reading our fortnightly newsletter.
There have not been any recent, major changes in the Immigration Rules other than the change in the median wage, which took effect on the 28 February 2024. This has been raised from $29.66 to $31.61. It is important to remember that this also applies to candidates who need to ensure they are receiving a wage of 1.5x, in order to be eligible for the lower rung of the 6-point system skill level 4-5. This figure now means that these clients need to obtain job offers that pay a base salary of $47.41p/h as opposed to $44.95 from last year. Skill level occupations 1-3 need to get the median wage or higher.
Having looked at the Immigration pages on Facebook over the last month, there seems to be a lot of confusion about the 6-point system and its requirements.
Many potential candidates have accepted a job offer which is below the salary threshold required. This will pose major issues when it is time to start applying for Residency, if they have not received the required salary. There are unfortunately no exceptions to this rule.
The other prevalent issue we are seeing, is confusion over the allocation of points. It is very important to note that only a maximum of 3 points can be awarded for work experience in New Zealand.
Bearing the above in mind, you need to be suitably qualified for the role either having a qualification or sufficient experience as per the ANZSCO requirement for that occupation, this may offset the need for the qualification.
As a result of this, I suspect that we may see many candidates having to return to their home countries after their Temporary Work Visas expire. This is a scary thought, especially if you have sold everything in your home country, moved your family cross-continent to start a new life and invested your life savings with the hopes that your Residency will be granted.
It is important to remember, if Immigration Rules were easy, there would no longer be the need for Licensed Immigration Advisers (LIA). As Immigration Advisors, we are there, to keep you up to date with changing rules, so that we can help you to navigate this very exciting new chapter of your lives. We also offer assistance on how these rules impact and affect each individual candidate’s unique situation.

Please do not fall into a trap by not ensuring that you have a solid pathway towards Residency before you take up an offer of employment.
If you have not already done so, we invite you to fill in our Free, Non-obligation Assessment Form which can be found on our website. Once completed our LIA will be in contact with you.
We are always available to answer any questions or queries you may have and look forward to helping you to make this dream, your new reality!
That’s all from our side for this issue. Look out for our next issue in two weeks’ time.

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