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.

The visa process is complicated…if it wasn’t I would most likely be mowing lawns or putting up flat-pack furniture. The whole system has been created with rules, on top of rules on top of even more rules. In many ways, our current visa process is a little bit like flat-pack furniture - if you borrowed parts from one set to try and fix the holes in another.

However in amongst all of this complex policy and confusing criteria lies a really simple core requirement - how can we bring in the skills that New Zealand needs, whilst balancing demands on our vital infrastructure, attracting those that will benefit the country long term and remaining competitive as a migrant destination.

In yet another policy change (we are seeing quite a few of these coming through), primary school teachers have come out as the winners, being moved to Tier 1 of the Green List, meaning that instead of a two-year pathway to Residence, primary school teachers can now apply for Residence directly (called Straight to Residence).

This is quite a significant move and follows secondary school teachers who were also upgraded, some time ago. Teachers have always occupied a place on our various shortages lists, although to varying degrees, because the profession is a bit of a moving target in terms of “shortages”.

During the Covid period, we saw an enormous number of NZ Teachers return from overseas, so shortages slowed down, however with the influx of migrants in the post-Covid border opening, many of whom have relocated their family’s here, the number of teachers needed has increased at the same rate.

Change is constant - never a truer word has been said in terms of the New Zealand immigration process and this week has seen more changes announced, which will take effect in March (just a couple of weeks away). These updates were foreshadowed in previous announcements so don’t come as a significant surprise, but of course it is always interesting to see the details when they finally land.

So, this week we will be taking a look at the key changes being released, what they mean for applicants and how this might all develop in terms of some of our other immigration policies, particularly as it applies to Residence. Considering the bulk of these changes are in relation to Work Visa policy, which has a natural link to Residence, there are some clues to be extracted here.

Last Sunday, the Government rolled out plans for an update to our Active Investor Visa category, which has attracted a substantial amount of interest both from potential applicants but also the local press and other commentators. The changes are pretty significant, but in many ways are a bit of a “back to the future” moment.

The investor visa has always been an interesting category for the Government, Immigration New Zealand (INZ) and of course for applicants. It is, in my view, an absolutely necessary part of our visa ecosystem, but it does create a level of, sometimes heated, opinion amongst the local populace.

This week’s article is a bit of a walk back through the investor category and its history, what the recently announced changes will mean for future applicants and some of the things, potential investor applicants should consider if they are keen to move ahead with the process.

Unlike Santa who makes a list and checks it twice, our immigration equivalent (the Green List) is checked once in a blue moon and probably could do with being updated a little more often. The idea of the Green List, what it does, how it works and whether it is an accurate depiction of skills we need, are questions I have heard a lot recently.

So, this week, we take a closer look at what the Green List actually is, how it works in terms of both Temporary and Resident Visa options and some of the issues that the us of lists can create for applicants. If you fancy knowing whether you are on this list, we also have a Green List Checker, available on our website (but head over there a bit later on).

There are two things that have consumed my email inbox this week (asides from of course the work we do for clients), one of those was the roll out of New Zealand’s version of the Digital Nomad Visa and the other was bacon.

The bacon issue is an entirely different story, which you can ask me about one day, however this article is obviously not about smallgoods, but of course the rise of the digital nomads and what our recent announcement means for those that might be keen to try it.

We also take a look at how this small change might benefit those looking at a longer term plan (as a skilled migrant) and also what this move represents for the future of some of our other visa policies.

The news media in New Zealand this week has had plenty to discuss, given our Prime Minister (Christopher Luxon) delivered his second “State of the Nation” speech yesterday, during which he rolled out a pretty strong agenda for growth. In fact, amongst many quick one-liners, the stand out was this one “We have to go for growth. It isn’t up for negotiation any more.”.

Given New Zealand has been dragging its heals over the last few years, trying to shake off the post-Covid hangover, this sort of rallying cry is potentially long overdue. There are some fairly grand plans in here to target a variety of sectors and to lift overall economic performance - the message being that saying no to things that might generate us an income is not language that this Government wants to entertain.

I am not sure about you, but the beginning of a new year, brings mixed feelings…there is the hopeful optimism of a full year ahead with all the potential opportunities it might bring, and then of course the post-holiday hangover, and having to pull yourself away from the beach and barbecue and back to reality.

This time of the year also brings about a lot of interest from those looking to make the move, typically because its the start of the year and there is something about doing dramatic, life-changing things at the start of a year, that makes sense for a lot of people. I get it…you have had time away from the daily grind and to contemplate whether a life abroad might be the next big step.

For those of you who have made that decision, then this article is for you. Of course if you are already here, there will be some useful information in here as well, but this is really aimed at the new years resolutions folks - the ones who have decided that 2025 is the year to move ahead with their plans to make New Zealand home.