New Zealand: Changes to the Immigration Act

Key Points  

• New Zealand introduced new measures under its Immigration Act in order to reduce abuses within its employment system  

Overview  

The government of New Zealand introduced changes to its immigration system on 21 December 2023, with the new measures coming fully into effect on 6 January 2024. The changes to the Immigration Act are: 

• Requiring employers to provide employment-related documentation within 10 working days of it being requested by an immigration officer. 
• Introducing three new immigration infringement offenses. These are: 
  • Allowing a person not entitled under the Immigration Act to work in the employer’s service to do that work. 
  • Employing a person in a manner inconsistent with a work-related condition of that person’s visa. 
  • Failing to comply with a requirement to supply documents within 10 working days. 
• Enabling the Chief Executive of MBIE to publish the names of employers who have broken the Immigration Act. 

Once the amended immigration regulations are in place to enable the issuing of infringement notices, the government will be able to issue them for offenses that occurred before the regulations were in place (up to a max of 90 days previously, or 6 January 2024, whichever is later). 

According to the announcement, these changes result from the Worker Protection (Migrant and Other Employees) Act. 

Looking Ahead  

Continue to check the government of New Zealand’s website and Envoy’s website for the latest updates and information.