It would be fair to say that the rivalry between Australia and New Zealand carries over well past any sporting arena and in recent years, both countries have been in a quietly competitive race to attract talent, with very different approaches. Australia is just three hours away from New Zealand (well the closest part) and for any prospective migrant offers many of the same benefits and attractions that New Zealand does, all of which form part of their motivation for moving.

However they are still very different countries with different environments, people, economic conditions and of course Visa processes. Over the years, they have borrowed from each other in terms of visa rules and settings offering the would-be migrant quite different options.

The new AEWV rules have been out for just under a week and it has become pretty obvious that these were rushed to market by both the Minister and also by INZ. There is also significant confusion flying around on various social media platforms as to some of the very specific areas of the policy, which need some clarification.

There is no real surprise here, given the Government was under significant pressure to sort out a fix to the ailing AEWV system and a whole new set of rules would have been a very complicated thing to have tried to create. Instead what was done, was a roll back to a lot of previous policy settings that existed when we had the Essential Skills Work Visa in play.

Big changes announced to the AEWV overnight, which will have plenty of people wondering where that leaves them. The changes introduce new requirements, depending on the skill level of the role in question, a minimum skill threshold and increased compliance for employers.

However this is (largely) policy we have seen before. With the exception of the English tests for lower skilled applicants, much of what the Government has rolled out is familiar territory. So a case of “back to the future” - we dive in with a detailed few explainers and a couple of plot spoilers.

If you were on the fence about migrating to this great little country, given all the recent media attention on our economy and the job market - I wouldn’t blame you. Its hard not to be distracted by the noise.

Things aren’t always that clear cut however and in this week’s article we take a closer look at what is happening in terms of the job market, the impacts on those would-be migrants and some tips on how to navigate the job search process.

In a somewhat surprise announcement yesterday, the Government has decided to add Secondary School Teachers to Tier 1 of the INZ Green List. This means that where these applicants previously had a two-year pathway to Residence, they now have the ability to apply for Residence directly.

For reasons known only to INZ and the Minister, the change only takes effect in May (a month away) but it will open the door for a number of applicants to get through the process much quicker.

There are some applications and some clients, where not only do you have to go the extra mile, but you find you are going those extra miles on more than one occasion. When it looks impossible, being able to stay the course is an exercise in patience and dogged determination.

We have just had one such case, spanning the last year for a simple Visitor Visa, which has finally been decided and approved - not after one attempt but three.

Over the last 10 years and counting, the Work Visa has overtaken the Resident Visa in terms of complexity and importance. Before, the Resident Visa process was the most complicated and ultimately most talked about, however with our current settings, the Work Visa is now the most important piece of the puzzle.

We have moved gradually towards a ‘work to residence’ immigration model in New Zealand, following the lead of many other migrant destinations…but are we on the right track and is our Work Visa process fit for purpose?

Once again, our record migration numbers have hit headlines as the media spins itself into a flurry recording the tens of thousands of people who arrived in the last few months. With a net gain of 5300 new ‘migrants’ in January, slightly down from December, the numbers remain high.

So is New Zealand filling up, will there be any space left for new arrivals and what does all of this mean for anyone looking to come here and the visa process that they might have to follow?

If you have engaged in the Visa process already, you will know the feeling that washes over you when you finally click the “submit” button on your application. A mixed sense of relief and then a momentary pause, followed by a unhealthy dose of paranoia. Did I get it right, did I provide the right evidence, did I tick the correct box, will my payment go through?

If you think that an adviser is immune to that feeling, you would be wrong, we still get it as well, although I would argue that any adviser that claims they don’t, is doing it wrong. The application process is a big-deal and so being a little paranoid about what happens when you do submit is completely normal.