New Zealand Increases Visa Fees and Immigration Levies

New Zealand is changing its visa rules, making it more expensive to travel there for most visa types starting October 1, 2024. The government says the new fees will better cover the actual cost of processing visa applications, but they promise that New Zealand's fees will still be competitive compared to countries like Australia and the UK.

They will also keep offering lower fees for applicants from Pacific countries. One of the biggest changes will affect student visas. For students from most parts of the world outside the Pacific, the fee will go up from NZD 300 to NZD 485. The fee for post-study work visas will actually go down, from NZD 490 to NZD 320, but the extra immigration levy will increase a lot. The student visa levy will rise from NZD 95 to NZD 265, and the post-study work visa levy will jump from NZD 210 to NZD 1350.

The Accredited Employer Work Visa (AEWV), which is a main temporary work visa in New Zealand, will also see changes. The visa fee will go down slightly from NZD 540 to NZD 480, but the immigration levy will increase from NZD 210 to NZD 1060.

These changes are meant to prioritize New Zealand workers while still allowing employers to hire skilled migrants when there are real labor shortages. There will also be new rules for low-skilled migrant workers, like needing to meet an English language requirement and having a certain level of skills and experience.

For jobs classified as lower-skilled (ANZSCO levels 4 and 5), employers will now need to check with Work and Income, New Zealand's welfare agency, before they can hire migrants. This is to make sure that local workers are considered first and that hiring migrants is really necessary. Also, the maximum time most low-skilled workers can stay in these roles will be reduced from five years to three years, as part of the government's effort to tighten rules on hiring migrant workers.