2023 – The Year of the Well-Paid Migrant

If they want to be approved residence as skilled migrants, being paid at least $88.98 per hour will be one of the quickest ways to be approved a Skilled Migrant Category visa, based on proposed changes expected to take effect later next year.

And for those migrants who already hold residence, those earning 1.5 times the median wage can bring one parent to New Zealand on a resident visa, or two parents if they earn twice the median wage – but only if they win the Parent Category lottery, which opens in August 2023.

Why are immigration settings being tied to the median wage?

Under the Parent Category, the New Zealand sponsor is required to pay their parents’ accommodation, maintenance and medical care for 10 years after residence approval – high income earners may be more likely to meet their undertakings.

For work visas, one key Government goal is to increase pay rates for New Zealanders. By setting the minimum required hourly rate at $29.66 for Accredited Employer work visa (AEWV) holders, the Government is trying to encourage employers to hire New Zealanders first and to pay them more.

For some industries – meat and seafood processing, construction and infrastructure, tourism and hospitality, and the “care industry” – employers can continue to hire workers on AEWVs at rates from $24 per hour to $26.16 per hour, depending on the industry.

However, the exception for the tourism and hospitality industries will be phased out from April 2023, when employers will need to pay $28.18 per hour, i.e. 95% of the median wage.

Pay rates skyrocket if you want to be approved residence

The above rates are for Accredited Employer work visas. People with open work visas – Working Holiday Visas and partners of New Zealanders or partners of work/student visa holders – can work for any employer, for any agreed pay rate at or above the minimum wage (currently $21.20 per hour).

However, if you want to be approved residence under the Skilled Migrant Category (SMC) in future, you will qualify more quickly the more you are paid.

Proposed changes to SMC in 2023 include the following examples of people who will meet the new passmark to be approved residence:

• Migrant workers paid three times the median wage (that is, $88.98 per hour)
• Migrant workers paid 1.5 times the median wage (i.e. $44.49 per hour) who have worked for three years in skilled employment in New Zealand at the median wage or higher
• People who have worked for three years in skilled employment at the median wage or higher and who hold a bachelor’s degree

To be fair, not everyone will need a highly paid job to be approved residence under SMC in future: An applicant with a PhD and a job offer will meet the points passmark automatically, as will someone with New Zealand professional registration and at least six years’ training or work experience.

And for parents…

Once the migrant worker achieves residence in New Zealand, they need to wait three years before they can apply to bring their parent or parents to New Zealand as residents.

They will also need to have earned at least 1.5 times the median wage ($92,539 a year from 2023 onwards) if they want to bring one parent to New Zealand under the Parent Category, or twice the median wage ($123,385 a year from 2023 onwards) if they want to support two parents for residence. Or they could jointly sponsor their parents with their partner or their New Zealand sibling, based on higher joint income rates.

Still, the chances of their parents being approved residence are low. Beginning in August 2023, INZ will run ballots every three months for the Parent Category. From these ballots, INZ will select enough expressions of interest to approve only 500 parents for residence each year.

Unfortunately, most people’s parents are likely to miss out. This is a pity, especially as the high incomes earned by their adult children appear sufficient to pay their living costs in New Zealand.

Season’s Greetings

I wish all Stuff readers a happy and prosperous 2023.