EMPLOYMENT

For those new to New Zealand and in search of gainful employment, there is a wide array of opportunities in many different sectors of the economy. Opportunities for employment exist in a diverse number of industries including agribusiness, manufacturing, service and professional sectors, and hospitality and tourism, among others.

As with any country, the more skilled and qualified a person, the more likely they will be able to find work, and the more likely they will be successful in their application for residency under the Skilled Migrant Category (SMC).  Immigration New Zealand (INZ) is principally interested in migrants who can contribute skills and experience to the economy and to New Zealand as a whole.

In most instances an individual is required to obtain a full time offer of skilled employment to qualify for New Zealand residence under the main category of residence being the SMC.  For further, more detailed information regarding applicable immigration policy we refer you to our New Zealand Immigration Policy section.

There are a broad range of occupations that will allow individuals to qualify and obtain New Zealand residence. There is a common misconception that unless an individual’s proposed employment position is provided on the INZ Long Term Skill Shortage list or Immediate Skill Shortage list that an individual cannot qualify for New Zealand residence. This is simply not the case. Likewise, even if an individual’s proposed employment position in New Zealand is listed on the Long Term Skill Shortage list or Immediate Skill Shortage list, this does not necessarily mean the position will allow that individual to qualify for New Zealand residence.

During the initial immigration assessment process our firm is able to provide an opinion in terms of whether or not the individual has a chance to secure New Zealand residence by virtue of their qualifications and experience and taking into consideration the skill level of the position that they would most likely be able to obtain in New Zealand.

Most migrants who choose to lodge residency applications spend time in New Zealand prior to looking for employment and/or lodging residency applications. Many arrive as students on a student visa or as a visitor on a tourist visa. The majority of migrants to New Zealand gain employment through recruitment agencies, or directly via online job search engines and regional newspaper publications. Lane Neave liaises closely with tried and trusted recruiters who can assist you with finding the right job when you arrive in New Zealand.

Due to the worldwide economic recession and the natural increase in the unemployment rate in New Zealand it has become increasingly difficult for migrants to secure offers of skilled employment in New Zealand even with the assistance of recruiters. In addition to this, INZ have also tightened temporary work permit/visa legislation to ensure that New Zealand citizens or residents are being offered available employment positions first before supporting and granting a temporary work permit/visa for a migrant to commence employment in any particular role.

There is currently a lack of synergy between temporary immigration policy and residence policy.  At this time, an individual can obtain a full time offer of skilled employment to allow an application for New Zealand residence to be processed by INZ under the SMC, although may not necessarily, without resistance, be able to obtain a temporary work permit/visa to commence employment in that role. Many employers require migrants to start within four to six weeks of the offer of employment and difficulty has therefore been encountered by migrants in relation to not only securing a full time offer of employment but also being able to obtain an appropriate temporary permit/visa to allow the individual to commence employment whilst an application for New Zealand residence is processed and completed.

In this particular environment, many of our clients who have had success in securing offers of employment have been proactive themselves and have not merely relied upon the assistance of recruiters.  There is a competitive market in New Zealand at this point in time and migrants who are the best prepared for this competitive environment and assisted by professionals are provided an advantage.

Pre January 2009 it was a relatively simple process for an individual who was deemed skilled to travel to New Zealand and secure a full time offer of employment. There is very much a different environment in place now, and even individuals who have exceptional skills and qualifications are finding it difficult and sometimes not possible to obtain a full time offer of skilled employment in a reasonable period of time.

Not only does our firm provide advice and information to clients regarding their potential eligibility for New Zealand residence, an honest appraisal from our firm and also an appropriate recruitment adviser will be provided in relation to the ability of the applicant to obtain a skilled offer of employment in this environment. An honest and up front opinion will be provided due to the costs involved in relation to travelling to New Zealand and not being able to secure an offer of employment. A situation of a migrant family travelling to New Zealand and not being able to secure a full time offer of employment to complete the migration process in most instances is avoidable by receiving accurate and full/honest advice at the outset.

Any decision made by a client of this firm to travel to New Zealand to source an offer of employment will be a decision that is made on a fully informed basis.  In many instances over the recession environment our firm has refused to accept instructions from individuals who wish to migrate to New Zealand on the basis that in our view they have no reasonable chance to migrate.  In most instances, for individuals in this position, although not desirable it is appropriate to wait outside New Zealand and delay migration until circumstances improve to allow the process to be undertaken with a reasonable chance of success.