Part 1: Why we looked at skilled residence visas

Immigration New Zealand: Managing how it makes decisions about skilled residence visas.

1.1
Skilled migrants fill long-term workforce needs and help to keep New Zealand's economy working well. They are a strategic priority for New Zealand in a globally competitive market for people with highly sought-after skills.

1.2
Immigration New Zealand, which is a part of the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE), manages the process for making decisions about applications for skilled residence visas.

1.3
Decisions about visas need to support New Zealand's safety and security at the same time as ensuring that an applicant does not have to wait too long for a decision about their visa. Migrants, their advisers, employers, and the public also need to be confident that the immigration system is processing visas fairly and consistently and is monitored effectively, using reliable information.

1.4
Keeping all these elements in balance is important for effectively managing the skilled residence visa system.

1.5
People with the skills the economy needs for the longer term tend to have choices about where to settle and can be in high demand in many countries. Whether these migrants connect to and decide to settle in New Zealand can be influenced by the experience of applying for a visa.

Skilled residence visas are a small but significant part of the immigration system

1.6
Skilled residence visas are a strategically significant part of the wider immigration system, but they form a small proportion of the applications that Immigration New Zealand processes overall. In 2023, Immigration New Zealand made decisions about 892,164 applications for visas.1 Of these, 12,231 were applications for skilled residence visas.2

1.7
In its 2022 report Immigration – Fit for the future, the New Zealand Productivity Commission considered the global context for highly skilled migration. It pointed out that highly skilled migrants are more mobile than other groups of migrants. They can choose to go elsewhere, particularly if other countries make their paths to residence clearer and easier.3

1.8
Recognising the choices that potential migrants have, New Zealand recently changed its skilled residence visa settings (see paragraphs 2.18-2.33).

1.9
Other countries have also considered changing their immigration systems for the same reason. In October 2023, the Canadian Government published a plan to strengthen its immigration system, including maintaining its status as a "destination of choice".4

1.10
In December 2023, the Australian Government published a migration strategy that recognised that it needed to change its current visa system because there was "a danger that migrants with the skills we most need are likely to turn their attention to other countries with better managed systems".5

What we looked at

1.11
We looked at how effectively Immigration New Zealand manages how it makes decisions about whether to grant skilled residence visas. We particularly wanted to know how well the system works for applicants.

1.12
By "skilled residence visas", we mean the following skilled residence pathways:

  • Skilled Migrant Category Resident Visas;
  • the "Green List", including Straight to Residence Visas for occupations on Tier 1 of the Green List and Work to Residence Visas for occupations on Tier 2 of the Green List; and
  • Care Workforce Work to Residence Visas and Transport Work to Residence Visas.6

1.13
In some instances, we identify a category of visas where it is important for context.

1.14
When we refer to the "skilled residence visa system", we mean the part of the immigration system that processes applications for skilled residence visas. The "process" is the steps that an application moves through, from when someone submits an application to when Immigration New Zealand decides whether to grant a visa.

1.15
Our audit focused on three main questions about how well Immigration New Zealand manages applications for skilled residence visas. We wanted to know how effectively Immigration New Zealand:

  • manages the process of making decisions about whether to grant skilled residence visas;
  • manages the quality of decision-making about applications for skilled residence visas; and
  • uses information to improve its decision-making about applications for skilled residence visas.

What we did not look at

1.16
We did not look at Immigration New Zealand's management of visa types other than skilled residence visas. However, we did look at some projects and initiatives intended for all visa applicants to understand how they specifically related to skilled residence applicants.

1.17
We talked to people who are licensed to give immigration advice to applicants, but we did not talk to applicants for skilled residence visas and we do not comment on specific decisions about individual applications. In keeping with our mandate, we do not comment on the appropriateness of eligibility requirements for visas or wider immigration policy settings.

How we carried out our audit

1.18
To carry out our audit, we:

  • collected and reviewed information from publicly available documents and from documents that MBIE provided;
  • reviewed a wide range of documents and data relating to monitoring and reporting on the immigration system's performance, briefing papers, governance documents, and guidance and training materials for staff;
  • observed "walk-throughs" of application forms and the decision-making process by Immigration New Zealand staff; and
  • conducted 34 interviews with individuals and groups, including staff who process applications for skilled residence visas and those working on and managing policy and operations. We also heard from people who are licensed to advise applicants.

1: See "Immigration New Zealand's achievements in 2023" at immigration.govt.nz.

2: This figure is for the number of individual decisions, not the number of people covered by those decisions. It is the total number of applications decided for skilled residence visas (Skilled Migrant, Straight to Residence, Skilled Migrant Category, Green List Work to Residence, Care Workforce Work to Residence, and Transport Work to Residence visa types). See the Statistics section of the Immigration New Zealand website at immigration.govt.nz.

3: New Zealand Productivity Commission (2022), Immigration – Fit for the future, page 61, at treasury.govt.nz.

4: Government of Canada (2023), An immigration system for Canada's future: A plan to get us there, at canada.ca.

5: Australian Government (2023), Migration strategy: Getting migration working for the nation. For workers. For business. For all Australians, page 11, at homeaffairs.gov.au.

6: On 7 April 2024, the Government changed the eligibility requirements for the Transport Work to Residence Visa. As at 8 August 2024, the approved work to residence roles for this category are ship's master and deck hand. From 7 April 2024, Immigration New Zealand stopped accepting new visa applications for bus driver, truck driver, aircraft refueller, furniture removalist, tanker driver, and tow truck driver.