On 7th April 2024, a significant change in New Zealand immigration policy surprised many. (Read more here: https://wordpress.com/post/jkimmigrationnz.com/169)

This was the day that major alterations were made to the Accredited Employer Work Visa. The key change involved categorising New Zealand job roles by skill level, distinguishing between skill levels 1 to 3 and levels 4 and 5. This distinction created significant differences in qualification requirements.

These changes affected not only the Accredited Employer Work Visa but also posed challenges for employers seeking to hire for lower-skilled roles. The “Job Check” stage, where employers must prove that no suitable New Zealanders are available for the position and thus they need to hire a foreign worker, saw its approval threshold raised dramatically.

One of my clients, who has been running an Asian fusion café in Auckland for seven years, was directly impacted by these changes. After battling the new, challenging barriers set by Immigration New Zealand from 8th April 2024, they finally received approval for the challenging Skill Level 4 occupation of Barista.

Thanks to the incredibly detailed and thorough review by the Immigration New Zealand officer, this moment of approval was both a valuable learning experience and a great relief. I’m already well into the process of the visa application for the client applying for the Head Barista role, and I’m looking forward to another successful outcome.

– Jane Joo