The Minister of Immigration has in recent times alluded to a decision “very soon” by the Government that will address a “grab bag” of issues that migrants are currently facing. It is becoming more likely that the government are considering a sort of “Covid” residence visa to migrants.
The Government will sell this as a great example of how “kind” they are but in reality this is the only the option Government has, given the absolute shambles in which the New Zealand Immigration system finds itself at present. Examples of these include:
- Residence application processing taking over 2 years
- The EOI pool continuing to grow to over 11000 applications while the EOI pool is closed and the complexities of opening the pool draw
- Accredited employer policy and systems not being ready in time for November (this was also sold by government as a concession to businesses)
- Blanket work visa approvals for 6 months meaning that when this ends, Immigration New Zealand will be facing thousands of applications within a short space of time.
It is only right that migrants who were part of the “team of five million” should be prioritized going forward. Government should not take the credit though for what is essentially a “get out of jail free” card.