The Government is ensuring skilled migrants can resettle in Aotearoa New Zealand with their families, Immigration Minister Michael Wood announced today.

Thousands of working holiday makers overseas now have new visas and are set to bring key skills to the New Zealand economy over the next three months, after the Government took action to extend the visas of offshore working holiday makers.

The Government has announced the next steps in our plan to reconnect New Zealanders to the world and fill workforce shortages, with the resuming of selections for two residence visa categories visas that will help Kiwi businesses attract talent during the global worker shortage.

Immigration Minister Michael Wood today announced measures targeted to support the hospitality and tourism sectors and have adjusted the requirement to recruit chefs as requested by industry.

The Government continues to respond to global workforce shortages by announcing the largest increase in over a decade to the Recognised Seasonal Employer Scheme (RSE), providing 3000 additional places, Immigration Minister Michael Wood and Agriculture Minister Damien O’Connor have announced.

Over 100,000 new Kiwis can now call New Zealand ‘home’ after the 2021 Resident Visa reached the halfway point of approvals, Minister of Immigration Michael Wood announced today.

Work continues on delivering on a responsive and streamlined immigration system to help relieve workforce shortages, with the reopening of longstanding visa categories.

The new Active Investor Plus visa category created to attract high-value investors, has officially opened marking a key milestone in the Government’s Immigration Rebalance strategy.

On September 12-13, 2022, Minister Michael Wood joined the U.S Secretary of Homeland Security, the Australian Minister of Home Affairs and Cybersecurity, and the Canadian Minister of Public Safety in the annual Five Country Ministerial at the Department of Homeland Security’s St. Elizabeth’s Campus in Washington, DC; the UK Home Secretary was able to join briefly to share her opening remarks.

Minister of Immigration Michael Wood will travel to Washington D.C this week to represent New Zealand at the annual Five Country Ministerial.

Changes to post-study work requirements, taking effect from today, will give certainty to international students studying advanced qualifications and will better align with New Zealand’s skills and workforce needs, Immigration Minister Michael Wood has announced.

​​​​​​​The Government is delivering on its promise of a responsive and streamlined immigration system to help relieve workforce shortages while providing meaningful humanitarian support, Immigration Minister Michael Wood has announced. 

The Government is taking steps through the revitalised and streamlined immigration system to help relieve workforce shortages facing New Zealand businesses in a suite of measures announced today.

More than a third of eligible migrants are now New Zealand residents thanks to the Government’s one-off, simplified path to residence, providing a way forward for migrant families and certainty for New Zealand businesses.

This evening marks the final step in the Government’s reconnecting plan, with visitors from non-visa waiver countries and international students able to apply for a visa to enter New Zealand.

The implementation of the Government’s immigration rebalance is progressing well, with details released today on how highly skilled migrants, including those with roles on the Green List, can apply to gain residence once they have arrived in New Zealand.

As part of the Government’s Immigration Rebalance strategy, changes to New Zealand’s investor visa settings will be made to attract experienced, high-value investors bringing growth opportunities to domestic businesses.

The third and final stage of the new simplified Accredited Employer Work Visa (AEWV) policy opens today.

Kris Faafoi has today announced that he will be leaving Politics in the coming weeks.

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern today announced a major package of reforms, which include an early opening of New Zealand’s border and a simplification of immigration settings, to address the immediate skill shortages in New Zealand and speed up the economic recovery from COVID-19.

New Zealand is back on the world map for international tourism and business travellers as the country opens up to visitors from around 60 visa-waiver countries who enjoy freer travel here from today.

Australia and New Zealand have jointly agreed that New Zealand will resettle up to 150 refugees per year for three years from Australia’s existing regional processing cohort.

The Government is ramping up an unprecedented scale of humanitarian support for the Ukrainian refugee crisis by introducing a new 2022 Special Ukraine Policy.