New 2021 Resident Visa announced

IMPACT – HIGH

The New Zealand government has announced a new one-off residence visa pathway for some temporary work visa holders.

Key Points:

• To be eligible for the 2021 Resident Visa applicants must:
  • Have been in New Zealand on Sept. 29, 2021;
  • Be on an eligible visa or have applied for (and later received) an eligible visa on or before Sept. 29, 2021; and
  • Have lived in New Zealand for three or more years, earn at or above the median wage ($27 per hour) or work a job on the scarce list, including some of these professions.
• Critical purpose visa holders entering the country on long-term visas between Sept. 30, 2021, and July 31, 2022, may be eligible for the new visa.
• More information on the 2021 Residence Visa can be found here.

Additional Information: Partners and dependent children can be included on the residence visa application. Short-term visa holders, such as visitors, students and seasonal workers, are not eligible for the 2021 Resident Visa Applications will be open in two phases from Dec. 1, 2021, for some eligible applicants and from March 1, 2022, for the remaining applicants. All applications must be submitted by July 31, 2022.

BAL Analysis: Work visa holders who meet the above requirements will be able to apply for the residence visa in the coming months. The full detailed requirements for the 2021 Resident Visa have yet to be released and BAL will monitor and provide additional information as it becomes available.

This alert has been provided by the BAL Global practice. For additional information, please contact berryapplemanleiden@bal.com.

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