New residence programme remains stalled: how long must skilled migrants wait?

New residence programme struggles to emerge

More than half of 2020 has passed, but Immigration New Zealand (INZ) has yet to announce a new New Zealand Residence Programme. The Government usually announces a programme every 18–24 months, setting the quota of new migrants it intends to approve over the following period.

The previously announced quota was exhausted in December 2019, and the Immigration Minister has yet to announce a new quota. 

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This has never happened before. Without a quota announced by the Immigration Minister, INZ has no target number of approvals to guide its processing of residence applications.

It is currently working to an “unofficial” quota, broadly following the provisions of the previous New Zealand Residence Programme, which allocated approximately 25,500–30,600 places to the Skilled Migrant Category.

INZ's current budget allocation also follows the amounts set under the previous New Zealand Residence Programme, whose quota was exhausted last December. It therefore cannot allocate more resources to the substantial backlog of Skilled Migrant Category applications unless a new programme is announced soon and the quota for this category increases.

Too many applicants, too few places: delays worsen

INZ has already received more Skilled Migrant Category applications than there are places available under the residence programme it is processing.

As discussed previously in “2020: New Zealand's immigration journey is full of uncertainty”, demand for New Zealand residence continues to grow, while the current Government has reduced the number of new residents approved by nearly 50%.

This puts immigration officers under pressure to reduce approvals, leading to many instances of the following:

- Requests for applicants to provide further explanations, creating delays;

- Requests for applicants to respond to potentially prejudicial information (PPI) letters;

- Applications being informally put on hold.

In our experience, pressing INZ for action actually increases the likelihood of receiving a PPI letter. 

Is agreement within the Government proving difficult?

It is essential to understand that residence programme quotas and Skilled Migrant Category selection criteria are set by the Government, rather than INZ. As an administrative agency, INZ must follow the Government's policy directions.

For skilled migrant visa holders, employers do not need to advertise the job for the first one-year work visa renewal or the subsequent six-month renewal. Every renewal after that requires the employer to advertise the job as one of the prerequisites. INZ is aware of this situation, but there is currently no prospect of a solution.

So far, the Immigration Minister has given no indication of intending to prioritise a review of Skilled Migrant Category criteria over the next 6 months.

Consequently, there will be little change in processing for applications already submitted.

Although INZ recognises the Skilled Migrant Category application backlog and its impact on applicants' lives, the political reality is that the new residence programme quota, which should have been approved by the Government in early 2020, has still not been announced.

This may be because the Labour, New Zealand First and Green coalition government cannot reach agreement on the issue.

In summary, applicants need considerable patience and should plan for the long term when submitting residence applications.

More restrictive policies may follow, although there could also be changes after the general election.

The key point is that applicants seeking priority processing must meet the priority criteria:

• Earn an hourly wage of NZ$51 or more; or
• Work in a profession requiring occupational registration.
  
  About the author
  Sonny Lam
  

  With 10 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 INZ in 2015, he began specialising in immigration, bringing a distinctive perspective on professional immigration matters and the effective preparation of application documents, enabling him to offer sound professional advice from the perspectives of both applicants and the immigration officers assessing their cases.