It appears the current Government has not finished tinkering with the Accredited Employer Work Visa (AEWV) rules just yet. Further changes were announced in September, which at first glance, many employers might not take much notice of but could potentially have significant impacts on future applications.
Within these changes, there are some useful process improvements, including employers no longer having to upload a draft agreement with their job checks (instead, they will make various declarations on the proposed agreement) and the potential for INZ’s automated systems to decide a job check where all the various elements have been met.
However, there is also a raft of updates to how a job check is assessed in terms of the genuine nature of the role, why that role needs to be filled, the scope and nature of the employer and so forth. Many of these could lead employers to having to face more detailed questions as they prepare and file these checks.
Greater Scrutiny
In terms of the increased scrutiny employers will now be facing, this really comes down to INZ determining if the job is genuine or if it is being used to facilitate a visa. Overwhelmingly, these job checks are for real jobs where there is a real need; however, in some cases, the system is used to simply try and facilitate a visa for someone.
The changes give INZ far greater scope to query employers and then later applicants in terms of why the role needs to be filled (beyond just the fact there is a shortage of people), the need for that role to be based in New Zealand (as a means to counter remote work being used to secure visas) and then the intentions of the employer in terms of that position.
The intent behind these changes is clear: INZ is trying to strengthen the overall assessment process, giving itself more powers to ask questions, where there is doubt and in reality, there is nothing wrong with that necessarily. However, when you give different immigration officers that degree of power, you end up with mass inconsistency as to how it is applied. Some will use it as a force for good, others will use it as a means to gatekeep the system.
Employers will need to be vigilant in terms of how they answer these questions or how they respond to requests for more information from INZ, being able to distinguish between what is reasonable and what might simply be a fishing exercise.
Automated Processing
The introduction of automated processing and removing the need to include a draft agreement are potentially smart moves, given for some very large employers, with well-established hiring practices, the need to provide this information or be reviewed each time by an immigration officer, simply slows everything down.
Where this automation will potentially end up, is with established, compliant employers, who clearly have a need for skilled staff, seeing their job check requests being processed very quickly, as the decision will be based largely on the nature of the information provided in the form.
However, there are always two sides to every policy change and while automated processing can be very useful in terms of efficiency, it also has the potential to lead to incorrect decisions, based on mistakes made when the form is submitted.
Again, it will be crucial for employers, filing these job checks, to understand how these new questions and lines of inquiry will impact on the outcome. Having good advice throughout the process is about to become even more important than ever before.
About the Author
Paul Janssen is the Manager of Turner Hopkins Services, a specialist New Zealand immigration consultancy, based in Takapuna, Auckland. Paul is fully licensed by the Immigration Advisers Authority and has nearly twenty years of industry experience, assisting families, individuals, and businesses to navigate the complexities of the visa system.
Paul and his team work together with their clients, providing realistic and practical advice in a timely and easy to understand manner. Identifying issues at the outset, mapping out the steps involved and managing all aspects of the relocation process.