New Zealand tightens visa rules as immigration reaches 'unsustainable' levels

Wellington, New Zealand:

New Zealand said on Sunday it was making immediate changes to its work visa program after near-record migration last year that it said was “unsustainable.”

The changes include measures such as introducing English language requirements for low-skilled jobs and setting minimum skills and work experience for most employer work visas. The maximum continuous residency for most low-skilled roles will also be reduced to three years from five years.

“The government is focused on attracting and retaining highly skilled immigrants such as secondary teachers, where there is a skills shortage,” Immigration Minister Erica Stanford said in a statement.

“At the same time, we need to ensure New Zealanders are put at the front of the line for jobs where there are no skills shortages,” she said.

The statement said that last year a record number of 173,000 people immigrated to New Zealand.

New Zealand, with a population of about 5.1 million, has seen rapid growth in migrant numbers since the end of the pandemic, raising concerns last year that it was stoking inflation.

Neighboring Australia, which has also seen a big jump in migrants, said it would halve the number of migrants over the next two years.

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