This week Immigration New Zealand announced changes to Working Holiday Scheme Visas to help increase access to working holidaymakers already in NZ, and those looking to travel here.
To help employers fill skills gaps, they have announced 3 main changes:
- 6-month visa extensions will be given to working holiday visa holders already in New Zealand, with visas expiring between 26 August 2022 and 31 May 2023.
- New visas will be issued to previous working holiday visa holders who couldn’t travel due to COVID-19 from October 2022, allowing them to enter by 31 January 2023. This visa will allow them to be in NZ for 12 months.
- Working holiday caps will be doubled with a one-off increase. The increase will be rolled out gradually. The 4 largest capped schemes will be done (Malaysia, Chile Argentina, and Taiwan) by the end of September 2022, and the remaining smaller capped schemes will then be rolled out by January 2023.
These three changes could see up to 12,000 more working holidaymakers come to NZ over the next 12 months.
Haley Sykes
Licensed Immigration Adviser