Global Courant
SYDNEY – New Zealand said on Wednesday it would free up its annual influx of highly skilled migrants and chart a faster route to granting them permanent residency as wealthy nations compete to lure the best global talent.
Several developed economies have increased annual migration rates or relaxed visa rules to help key companies recruit staff to fill shortages after the Covid-19 pandemic brought tighter border controls and kept out foreign workers.
“The changes… to ensure there is no cap on skilled migrants removes an artificial constraint in the old system,” Immigration Secretary Michael Woods said in a statement.
He referred to a benchmark that establishes an indicative number of places to stay each year that prevent skilled migrants from settling in New Zealand, even if there was a demonstrable need.
“We know that many industries are asking for workers as the global labor shortage hits,” Woods added.
From October, the government will also simplify its points-based system used to select skilled migrants, speeding up the verification of visa applications and giving migrant workers more certainty about their eligibility.
New Zealand has no formal cap on the annual number of skilled resident visas, but manages the process in a so-called scheduling scope that limits the number of individuals who secure permanent residency.
The move comes as the labor market remained tight, with the unemployment rate nearing a record low, while the March quarter’s employment rate reached its highest since the series began in 1993.
“The government has heard from businesses that providing assurance that skilled migrants and their families can reside in New Zealand will be a major asset in attracting skilled workers,” Woods said. REUTERS
New Zealand relaxes migration rules to lure more
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