The changes are intended to prevent fraudulent and unethical behaviour by rogue employers
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In an attempt to crackdown on migrant exploitation in the workplace, the New Zealand Government is overhauling the scheme that allows international students to continue to work in the country.
The changes will affect 12,000 to 16,000 people, and remove the requirement for graduates to be sponsored by employers, according to the Immigration Minister Iain Lees-Galloway.
In particular, the changes will impact students who are studying at below degree level and will involve reducing their post-study work rights to one year.
“If those students want to carry on in New Zealand, then, obviously, they’ve got the opportunity to apply for different visas, but they will be labour-market-tested visas, and they’ll need to demonstrate that they’ve got skills that are in demand here in New Zealand,” said Lees-Galloway.
He added that one aspect of the Post Study Work Visas under the current system is that after the first year, students have to demonstrate that they’re in a job that is relevant to the area that they have studied.
“Unfortunately, what’s resulted from that is employers saying to those students, ‘Look, I’ll enhance your job description, or I’ll try to make it look like you’re working in an area that you’ve studied, and in return for that, I expect a big payment.’”
Lees-Galloway said a lot of students are going into those jobs, they’re getting their wages, and then “they walk down to the ATM, they take a lot of cash out and pay that money straight back to the employer”.
“That’s the kind of exploitation that we’ve seen,” he said.
"Too many students are being sold a false dream in New Zealand that the current post-study work rights can put students on a fast track to residency here.”
Lees-Galloway added that this has led to a decline in the general skill level of migrants granted permanent residency, and “fraudulent and frankly unethical behaviour” from some agents, employers and education providers has led to students being exploited.
The National’s Immigration Spokesperson Michael Woodhouse said businesses and the international education industry have been “desperate for clarity and while the Government has finally provided some detail about its policy, what remains uncertain is exactly how big an impact the Government’s changes will have”.
The amendments will make the following changes:
• Remove the requirement for post-study work visas to be sponsored by a particular employer,
• Provide a one-year post-study work visa for non-degree level 7 or below qualifications,
• Provide a three-year post-study work visa for degree level 7 or above qualifications,
• Require students completing non-degree level 7 or below qualifications to undertake at least two years of study in order to gain eligibility for post-study work rights, and,
• Require international students studying level 8 or 9 qualifications to be in an area specified in the Long Term Skills Shortage List in order for their partner to be eligible for an open work visa, and in turn the partner’s dependent children to be eligible for fee-free compulsory schooling.