It is easy to forget or overlook what is right in front of you and I think many New Zealanders do this on a daily basis. Occasionally however we are reminded of why we are quite lucky to live in a country like this. I was personally reminded of this yesterday, when I was lucky enough to join my youngest daughter (Miss 9) on a school outing to Okoromai Bay and Shakespear Regional Park, to plant some grasses along the dunes.

English language and more specifically the testing of it as part of the visa process has surfaced once again, amongst the migrant grapevines and rumour mills, with renewed calls from various parts of the migrant community to lower the standard from where it currently sits. Logically most advisers tend to favour any petition for lowering anything as it potentially makes more people eligible and of course the migrant community would have it abandoned all together.

I have been asked more than once this week, by prospective clients, why paying for advice might be a good idea…of course, I can only offer a semi-biased answer, because I do what I do for a living, but you dont do what I do for this long, without actually being able to add some significant value. So whether you use me or someone else, getting advice to assist with the New Zealand visa process, is a good idea.

The Green List has made a few headlines recently, largely because in August 2025, ten new trade-related occupations will be added to it, expanding the list substantially and opening up more opportunities for applicants to secure a pathway to residence. This potentially helps to fill a gap for trade related roles that don’t (currently) have a pathway to residence, yet there is a pretty consistent demand for them.

There are a number of things within the immigration process that can be confusing (in fact most of it is), but the one thing that seems to pop up the most is the difference between residence and permanent residence and it can be one of the hardest things to explain to a client, despite it being relatively simple.

In the world of New Zealand immigration, one of the most common points of confusion, and something we are asked about a lot more than we probably should be, is the difference between a work visa and residence. While it might appear obvious to some, for many applicants, the difference between these two visas and what they provide is not so clear and can lead to disappointment when one doesn’t necessarily turn in to the other.

The Government has finally announced the Parent Boost Visa - a Visa that was promised as part of both National and Act’s campaign pledges and has taken a little longer than either party (or the hopeful applicants) might have liked, to finally roll out. The actual Visa doesn’t go live until 29 September, but the core components have been released, meaning we know how it will work and there will be plenty of people beginning to prepare their applications to apply later this year. We anticipate that demand for this Visa will be relatively high, given both the number of parents, waiting in the Parent Residence queue, as well as those who may not yet qualify for Residence, but want to join their children and grandchildren in New Zealand.

I am spending ten days in China (currently two days in), travelling first through Shanghai and then on to Shenzhen. It is my second time here, although the first trip was twenty or so years ago, and so this might as well be the first time. I am not going to pretend that spending 10 days in another country, gives me any authority as to why people might decide to leave (and head to NZ), although having lived in the United Kingdom and spending the better part of 12 years travelling for work, I do have some empathy and perhaps recognition for the thoughts that migrants might have as they contemplate a new life in a new country.

Student Visas, or rather international students, are big business for New Zealand Inc. as we export our education services to the world. Given our location, the quality of some of our leading tertiary institutions and the enviable lifestyle we offer, studying in New Zealand is a very attractive option for people coming from a variety of countries. However, it is also a challenging market to sustain, as we compete against so many other locations for that incredibly valuable international student spending.

The United States has made headlines (again) lately, imposing restrictions on international students, and revoking certification from some top tier institutions, largely based on country specific agenda. Obviously there is opportunity in that for New Zealand and a host of other countries to pick up on that demand, bringing those displaced students here.

The coalition Government has a problem and its a fairly big one. Since the borders reopened, our net migration numbers have had more ups and downs than a US trade negotiation. When border restrictions were dropped in late 2022, and with the migrant labour taps having been turned off for two and half years, employers imported talent by the 747 load. Coupled with relaxed visa processing (the rules were the same, just the brakes were taken off), the intake of new kiwis was significant, albeit many of these arrivals actually had no clear pathway to residence.

Fast forward two and half years later, and with an economy fighting back after the covid financial stimulus sugar rush, more New Zealanders are leaving and we have fewer arrivals … arriving. Considering New Zealand has traditionally been a very popular destination for migrants (and arguably still is), something is clearly amiss.

The coalition Government has a problem and its a fairly big one. Since the borders reopened, our net migration numbers have had more ups and downs than a US trade negotiation. When border restrictions were dropped in late 2022, and with the migrant labour taps having been turned off for two and half years, employers imported talent by the 747 load. Coupled with relaxed visa processing (the rules were the same, just the brakes were taken off), the intake of new kiwis was significant, albeit many of these arrivals actually had no clear pathway to residence.

Fast forward two and half years later, and with an economy fighting back after the covid financial stimulus sugar rush, more New Zealanders are leaving and we have fewer arrivals … arriving. Considering New Zealand has traditionally been a very popular destination for migrants (and arguably still is), something is clearly amiss.

There are several parts of the visa process that create both a lot of questions and also a lot of confusion - and medical assessments (the way INZ assesses your health for a visa) is certainly one of them. It is confusing because there are various forms of assessment that take place and what is being considered or assessed will vary depending on the visa you are applying for. There are different assessments for temporary visas, as compared to residence and different again for partners (of NZ citizens or residents), than to anyone else. Some visas allow for medical waivers and some don’t and then there are all the thresholds to consider, in terms of cost, risk and burden to the NZ health system.

For the vast majority of applicants, who are medically fit and well, there will be no real cause for concern, however for anyone with a blip on the medical radar, the process can be very different. Applications can be delayed due to the assessment process, requests for more information and then securing follow up appointments (particularly with specialists).

So this week, in what might be a bit of a lengthy article, we are going to break this all down and demystify the medical process for New Zealand visas, explain how the different medicals are assessed, the process for a medical waiver and how to prepare for your medical, to avoid the potential lengthy delays that the medical assessment process can bring.

During the course of this week, I had the unfortunate opportunity to engage in some spirited Facebook debate over a proposed petition to reduce English language requirements for a specific group of Visa holders, looking to apply for Residence. The author of this post and it appears the individual behind the petition, was arguing that the existing English language testing standard was too high for Truck Drivers.

His argument, which appeared to be more about self-promotion than anything that came close to common sense, was that Truck Driver’s dont need to speak English as well as every other migrant, because…well because they drive Trucks. What he failed to appreciate is that our English language testing, particularly under the Skilled Migrant category is not just about your ability to do your job, through the use of English but also how well you can integrate in to society more generally. You might not need to use fluent English, when you are behind the wheel (although I would argue its still important), but when you are in urgent need of medical care, need to speak to your children’s teachers or require any other form of assistance, being able to converse in one of the key languages in your new home, is incredibly important.

You might be wondering how alpacas might fit in to any discussion the New Zealand immigration process, but trust me there is a connection, or rather the connection is to where you might find them - small town New Zealand. I have just come back from a few days away with my family in Waihi and as part of that trip, we stayed on an alpaca farm, hosted by some ex-Aucklanders who had escaped the chaos of big city life, for something a little more relaxing.

That trip got me to thinking about how underrated, life in our small centers can be, particularly if you are considering relocating here from distant shores. Most would-be migrants are attracted to our main cities (Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch etc.) given the potential availability of work, however small town New Zealand has a lot going for it and for some migrants, might just be the escape they are looking for.

Predicting what might happen in the NZ immigration space, is a bit like predicting the weather…you hear the reports, you prepare for sunny weather and then you end up completely soaked. What appears to be on the horizon, in terms of a squall or a sunny day can rapidly change and what the forecasters (read those active social media speculators) might predict is coming your way, is usually not quite the same when it actually arrives.

I have previously written about some of the immigration changes that we expect to see in the next twelve months and thanks to having spent over two decades in this industry, I belong to a number of industry groups that have been consulting on some of the proposals the Minister is looking to roll out.

There is clearly a lot on the immigration policy agenda for this year, and we have already seen a fair few changes being rolled out (and its only April). So in this weeks article, we are taking a look at what else might be on the New Zealand immigration horizon.

This week, we are going to do something a little different and instead of a lengthy written piece on policy or process, I am going to introduce you to someone who has made the move, lived the experience and then come out the other side. For everyone, the process of moving from one country to another is unique and presents its very own set of challenges, however there are some common themes for most migrants.

In this weeks article, I sit down with Greg Bolek a nearly recent arrival from Canada. Greg and his family made the move, during one of the most unsettling periods on our immigration history (the Covid pandemic) and his relocation was far from simple, however he has made it through and successfully settled in NZ, establishing his own business.

Join me and Greg for an introduction to some of things that you should consider if you are also looking at making New Zealand your new home.

This week, we are going to do something a little different and instead of a lengthy written piece on policy or process, I am going to introduce you to someone who has made the move, lived the experience and then come out the other side. For everyone, the process of moving from one country to another is unique and presents its very own set of challenges, however there are some common themes for most migrants.

In this weeks article, I sit down with Greg Bolek a nearly recent arrival from Canada. Greg and his family made the move, during one of the most unsettling periods on our immigration history (the Covid pandemic) and his relocation was far from simple, however he has made it through and successfully settled in NZ, establishing his own business.

Join me and Greg for an introduction to some of things that you should consider if you are also looking at making New Zealand your new home.

Yesterday we had a Resident Visa approved for an applicant who is the partner to a New Zealand citizen…we do these all the time and in fact, if I had an area that I specialise in, it would probably be partnership-based applications. They are all unique, because relationships are unique and that’s probably why I enjoy them so much.

This particular application was similarly unique and had some challenges along the way, namely due to the age difference of the applicants (it shouldn’t be, but usually is a factor), the fact that when we started, the couple had never lived together and the usual challenges in securing the level of evidence that INZ tends to demand.

In our line of work, there is obviously nothing worse than having a Visa declined and thankfully, given the way we operate that doesn’t happen very often. Whilst we could claim some sort of ludicrously high success rate, the reality is, Visas are declined for various reasons. For us and on the very rare occasions that an application is rejected, it is almost always because the application carried a degree of risk that we would have prepared the applicant for or something surfaced during the process, that we were not made aware of.

The reason we are able to avoid applications being declined, is because we understand what each visa requires, and even if there are some challenges we can generally plan ahead for them. In the rare situations where we can’t predict the outcome, we let our clients know in advance and warn them before they make the decision to proceed. Having decades of experience helps you figure out what will work and what is potentially going to fail.

We talk a lot about planning and preparing in our business and that is because we believe those two things are the most important tools a migrant has in their toolkit. Having a clear and sensible plan, which covers your eligibility, the various visas you will need to apply for and then also takes account of any potential issues along the way, is your starting point. Within that plan you also need to build in some flexibility, because the rules can and do change, although usually for most skilled applicants those changes, don’t have a big impact.

Once the plan is in place and you know you can adapt where necessary, you need to commence the preparation phase and that involves understand both what to prepare and when. Most of this is very logistical, but also crucial, because having all of the documentation in place, as well as understanding what needs to be done during each step of the process ensure that there are far fewer surprises or delays along the way.