July 12, 2020
– 13 July 2020 The local labour market test is a requirement for the Essential Skills work visa, and has been part of the immigration framework for years. This test reflects the general idea that New Zealand as a country would rather have New Zealanders take up employment in any open employment positions, rather than hiring migrant workers to take those spots instead. This means that employers will have to be able to prove that there are no New Zealanders in the area who are able to fill the vacant role at the time of assessment. Employers will have to […]
June 14, 2020
– 15 June 2020 The New Zealand border has been closed since 11:59pm, 19 March 2020. The border closure means that most people cannot enter the country, barring a select few. You can read more about the border closure and who can get an exception here. There are many people who do not qualify as an exception to the border closure policies. People who normally worked and lived in New Zealand on temporary visas, only to find themselves locked out of the country once the borders closed. What can you do if you want to return to New Zealand but […]
May 29, 2020
The following is an extract of information from Immigration New Zealand. Immigration New Zealand is working with businesses, helping them navigate an environment where more New Zealanders are available to work, while continuing to uphold the rights of migrant workers. Links to the sites listed in the flyer can be found at the bottom of this page. Changing visa conditions for employees in NZ: Definition of an essential business or service Changing visa conditions for employees in NZ: variation of conditions Meeting visa conditions: COVID-19 updates Redundancies: termination of employment Essential skills visas for migrants in NZ: hire a […]
May 13, 2020
– By Marcus Beveridge and Bradley So 13 May 2020 Everyone is bracing for the impact of the biggest recession post-GFC. How will New Zealand handle the impact? Many Kiwis are under significant mental and financial stress as uncertainty looms because of COVID-19. And our economy might be on its knees. The tide of unemployment will continue to rise, but the government will need to balance this with the need for skilled migrant workers. New Zealand cannot expect to continue infrastructure and construction projects in the pipeline using just local labour, not if we want such projects to be done […]
May 10, 2020
Immigration New Zealand (INZ) had its offices closed due to COVID-19. This meant that no applications were being processed, effectively bringing immigration to a standstill. Now that New Zealand is in level 3 of the lockdown, and hopefully entering level 2, INZ will be reopening its doors and resume processing applications. However, this will only be for onshore branches and staff numbers will be limited. On top of that, New Zealand’s borders are still closed. This means that the only applications that will be processed will be applications for people who are currently onshore. However, if you meet the requirements […]
April 24, 2020
– 24 April 2020 On 9 April 2020, Queen City Law held our first online webinar for employers in regards to practical Immigration and Employment law tips due to the lockdown and COVID-19 situation. You can visit our previous blog here to view the original presentation. On Thursday 23 April 2020, Marcus, Bradley and Max held another online webinar to provide further tips based on the announcement from the Government in regards to the move from Alert Level 4 to Alert Level 3. You can view the presentation slides here and listen to a recording of the audio below. […]
April 24, 2020
On 18 April 2020 Queen City Law and Conrad Funds Management Limited held an online webinar in regards to the different Investor Visa categories and Investment in New Zealand. The seminar was presented by Tom Huang (Associate of Queen City Law) and Yuan Fang (Investor Relations of Conrad Funds Management Limited) with an introduction from Marcus Beveridge (Principal of Queen City Law). You can read the presentation slides from Queen City Law in English and Chinese. You can also read the presentation from Conrad Funds Management Limited here and visit their website for further information. If you wish to discuss […]
April 16, 2020
Coming to the end of week three in the national lockdown, many were tuned in to the announcement by Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern. All hopes were on the announcement that the Alert Level would be moved from 4 down to 3 and some form of normalcy would return to the nation from next week. While there was no set-in-stone confirmation that the Alert Level would definitely be lowered next week, there was an update on what Alert Level 3 would look like in terms of personal movement, recreation, education, workers and business, travel and transport, gatherings, at risk people and […]
April 8, 2020
– 09 April 2020 Queen City Law is pleased to be doing a webinar on topical Immigration and Employment Law considerations in the new normal. You can review the topics that were covered by Marcus, Bradley and Max here. If you have any queries, you can contact Marcus, Bradley or Max to discuss. Marcus Beveridge – marcus@qcl.co.nz Bradley So – bradley@qcl.co.nz Max Shin – max@qcl.co.nz We have taken care to ensure that the information given is accurate, however it is intended for general guidance only and should not be relied upon in individual cases. Professional advice should always be sought […]