September 29, 2021
The Government has made a major immigration announcement today: the 2021 Resident Visa. This visa will grant residency to 165,000 migrants who are currently on work visas. This visa has been simplified to make it fast and easy to get residency quickly, to help maintain economic recovery and family unity in New Zealand. For example, you only need to provide overseas police certificates or medical certificates if you are asked to. This application can also include your partner and children. You can read more about the 2021 Resident Visa at the following link from the Minister of Immigration Hon Kris […]
September 15, 2021
The lawyers at QCL have dealt with literally hundreds of Character Waiver applications over a timespan totalling almost 3 decades. In order to be considered for a resident visa in New Zealand, one must be of good character and in good health. One of the questions in INZ’s application forms is “Have you, or anyone included in this application, been convicted at any time of any offence, including any driving offence? Please note that this includes any conviction(s) outside of New Zealand subsequently cleared or wiped by ‘clean slate’ legislation.” Honesty is the best policy. Some of the considerations INZ […]
August 24, 2021
If you are a skilled migrant worker, then there are various pathways to secure a residence visa. I will go through the Skilled Migrant Category pathway and the issues that may arise if you apply for Residence through a Labour Hire Company or an Agency. SKILLED MIGRANT CATEGORY To qualify, you need to determine if you can claim at least 160 points. We anticipate that Immigration NZ will make significant changes in this category. Currently, Immigration NZ is not inviting anyone to apply from the expression of interest. Immigration NZ has put this on hold until further notice. However, if you […]
August 19, 2021
The QCL immigration and citizenship team pride itself on being the best in Aotearoa. Seemingly each week we obtain exceptional results for our clients. This pattern has not abated during the period our border has closed, and even during the current lock down we remain under the pump. We believe we have processed more successful Investor 1 applications than any other law firm in the country, we were the first law firm to successfully process Critical Worker visas for rotation for one of the crews on a super yacht currently berthed at Westhaven Marina, we are leaders in the accredited […]
August 3, 2021
– 3 August 2021 In the last decade New Zealand has attracted in excess of $10 billion under its Investor categories. Yes you read that right, ten thousand million dollars -a fair chunk of change. Next month the government is intending to shut down these Investor categories. It is understood that NZTE have hijacked INZ to some degree. Approval now sits with a Cabinet committee and the intention is to dish this up as a fait accompli in August 2021. It is proposed that some months thereafter a new category will be announced which requires an individual to remit $25 […]
May 10, 2021
Changes to work visas for employees and employers: Introduction to the accredited employer work visa
– 10 May 2021 On 7 May 2021 Immigration New Zealand (“INZ”) announced the changes to employer assisted work visas and accredited employer policies. The main changes coming into effect are that six employer assisted work visas will become one type of work visa and that any employer assisting with a work visa application must now be accredited. These changes do not affect open work visas such as the partnership-based work visa or the post-study: open work visa. Work Visas: The six work visas with will be removed and replaced with the new Accredited Employer Work Visa (“AEWV”) are […]
April 1, 2021
QCL advises that from 1 April 2021 the firm will now conduct its business as Queen City Law NZ Limited. This will now be reflected in our terms of engagement and other firm details. From this date any reference to QCL or Queen City Law refers to Queen City Law NZ Limited. If any further information is required please call Marcus on 0274877332 or Aimee on 9708810
January 28, 2021
In October 2020, the Government announced an exception to the border closure for international PhD and postgraduate students. This new category was for an allowance of 250 international students to return to New Zealand to continue their studies. Students applying under this exception must hold or have held a visa to study in New Zealand in 2020 but were unable to entre the country due to the COVID-19 restrictions. The exception does not apply to new students looking to enter the country to start their studies. Due to the limited number of positions available under this category, […]
November 26, 2020
Bloomberg have recently released a report that compares countries to each other by measuring how well they perform under ten COVID-19 metrics. The metrics include the number of cases of the virus, deaths from the virus, and more. These metrics are used to calculate a resilience score to depict how well that country is performing under the virus. New Zealand has proudly taken the number one spot on that list, beating other top performers such as Japan, Taiwan, and South Korea. New Zealand has been praised for its quick and decisive action in face of COVID-19, which includes completely […]