Major news! Details of Immigration New Zealand's latest meeting revealed! Industry insiders: EOI threshold could rise to 200 points, and minimum pay to NZ$27 an hour!

First, the issue everyone is most concerned about: when EOI will reopen. We learnt from this Immigration New Zealand meeting that EOI has yet to have its reopening date agreed, but the points threshold could rise from 160 points to 180 or 200 points, while the minimum pay threshold could rise from 25 New Zealand dollars to 27 New Zealand dollars. Partnership visas currently face no major changes; the Parent Resident category will remain closed; the border reopening date is undecided; and investor visa applications are being processed as usual... There is plenty to unpack! Let's look at the immigration policies that could change:

1、EO1

Although the EOI system is almost certain to reopen, as of 26 March 2021, Immigration New Zealand had still not decided when. Today it again said that “every aspect of EOI remains under review”. This strongly suggests that Immigration New Zealand could raise the EOI points threshold, although other changes are also possible. 

Immigration New Zealand has so far received more than 7000 EOIs awaiting assessment. Any EOI changes would affect more than 7000 applicant families. Based on this meeting, possible changes include:

• Raising the points threshold from 160 to 180 or 200
• Prioritising people already in New Zealand
• Prioritising people with better English test results
• Prioritising highly paid applicants
• Setting a minimum period of work experience as an assessment requirement
• Requiring all adults to meet a minimum IELTS standard, rather than allowing partners and dependants to pay for ESOL
• Introducing a points system for English test results

{ad} 

2. Work visas

Notably, Immigration New Zealand could again raise the immigration pay threshold, from NZ$25 to NZ$27 an hour. It said the median wage benchmark would need to be redefined after the border reopened.

Work visa requirements are as follows:

• All employers must be accredited to support an applicant's work visa application
• Efforts to recruit locally and try to find a New Zealand worker first will still be required
• Only 6 months for lower-paid jobs (currently below $25.50 an hour)
• 3 years for higher-paid jobs (currently above $25.50 an hour)
• From July 2021, the threshold between lower- and higher-paid work will rise to $27 an hour
• Employers must employ a certain level of New Zealand workers to apply for work visas.

3. Partnership visas

There are currently few changes to partnership visas. Immigration New Zealand said there was not a large backlog in this category.

4. Parent Resident category

This category remains closed because of the pandemic. Immigration New Zealand currently gives parent residence applications “low priority”. 

5. Investor visas

Immigration New Zealand said today that investor visa applications were being processed as usual, but entry for applicants outside New Zealand would be decided case by case. 

6. Visitor visas

According to information shared by immigration managers at today's meeting, visitor visas will not reopen to people outside New Zealand until at least the end of 2021. The closure of the Beijing visa centre also means approval rates for visitor visas will currently be very low, with visas reserved for people with special reasons. 

7. Border reopening

Industry insiders believe the border could gradually reopen as more international students are allowed to enter, but the timing will require ongoing assessment.

8. New online visa application platform

Immigration New Zealand said a new or upgraded system would be introduced to accept all immigration visa applications online. It is expected to begin operating within the next 18 months.

 

Industry insiders' overall predictions 

Safe zone: applicants in New Zealand

Residence visa applicants who have already submitted applications and are in New Zealand are highly likely to be approved. Processing has reached applications from August 2019, and Immigration New Zealand is currently working to catch up. 

According to Immigration New Zealand's data, approval rates for people who have already applied remain high, and most applicants respond positively to PPI letters raising Immigration New Zealand's concerns.

 

Danger zone: applicants outside New Zealand 

For eligible people who have not yet applied, things could become harder than before. Immigration New Zealand said: “One consideration is whether people are already in New Zealand.” 

This means people waiting to become eligible could be in the danger zone, although the outlook is not too bad for those already in New Zealand.

Unfortunately, if you are outside New Zealand and do not have an application related to a partnership visa category, your chances of success do not appear particularly high.

Everything remains under consideration by Immigration New Zealand. We expect some new policies to emerge in April.

Please note: the above consists solely of industry insiders' predictions based on today's meeting and should not be treated as official assessment criteria!

About the author:

Sonny Lam

With more than ten years of litigation experience and experience as a former Immigration New Zealand officer, he currently works as an immigration lawyer at Forest Harrison Lawyers. After leaving Immigration New Zealand in 2015, he began specialising in immigration, bringing a distinctive perspective on technical immigration matters and the effective preparation of application materials, and offering sound professional advice from the perspectives of both applicants and the immigration officers assessing their cases.