Changes in visa requirements for temporary workers in the music, screen and entertainment industry
What has changed?
Previously all such applications needed to be referred to the relevant professional association, industry guild or union such as the New Zealand Film and Video Technicians’ Guild, the Screen Production and Development Association, the Screen Directors’ Guild of New Zealand, New Zealand Actors Equity, the New Zealand Actor’s Guild, or the musicians’ branch of the Service and Food Workers Union.
New rules
From 30 April 2012 there will be a streamlined process, without any professional association, industry guild or union referral, for applicants whose engagement in New Zealand is:
- for 14 days or less, or
- on an official co-production, or
- with an accredited company.
Applications that fall outside these criteria will be subject to the same industry-led labour market testing that currently applies.
Accreditation
New Zealand companies who seek to engage entertainment industry personnel will be able to apply in advance to Immigration New Zealand (INZ) to become accredited. They must demonstrate that they:
- are financially sound,
- have a sound industry track record,
- have a commitment to engaging and training New Zealanders, and
- have good work place practices.
The relevant professional associations, industry guilds and/or unions will be consulted as part of consideration of applications for accreditation.
For more information on the accreditation criteria, please see Entertainment industry accreditation.
Approved arts and music festivals
Performers and direct support staff attending an ‘approved’ arts or music festival will be able to enter New Zealand as visitors, without having to apply for a visa if they are from one of the more than 50 countries with which New Zealand has a visa-waiver agreement.
For an arts or music festival to become ‘approved’, its organisers will have to submit a proposal to INZ demonstrating that their festival meets certain criteria. See the Checklist for Arts and Music Festival Approval Status PDF [334KB] for further information.
Rationale for changes
The key objective of the changes is to reduce red tape and compliance costs on entertainment industry businesses and to support economic growth. This will ensure that these businesses can get the people they need when they need them, while still providing protection for New Zealand workers. The previous ‘one size fits all’ immigration process, where all applications are referred to industry guilds or unions irrespective of whether there is a risk of displacing New Zealand workers, does not necessarily reflect the requirements of different industry sectors, types of production or other government objectives.
Benefits of the changes
The changes will make it easier for entertainment industry companies to bring workers to New Zealand. Inbound productions can create a significant number of jobs for New Zealanders across a range of roles. The changes will reduce the risk of the immigration process reducing New Zealand’s attractiveness to overseas productions.
For more information regarding your immigration and visa requirements please contact Auckland law firm Quay Law NZ.
Immigrant fingerprints checks introduced between Oz and New Zealand as part of fraud drive that will be extended to other countries
Media Release
Source: www.dol.govt.nz (Department of Labour)
16 August 2010
Immigration New Zealand (INZ) has begun fingerprint checks with Australia as part of a biometric programme to strengthen border security and prevent identity fraud.
The programme will expand to include checks with the United Kingdom, Canada and the United States under the umbrella of the Five Country Conference (FCC), which has developed a system for securely – and with substantial privacy safeguards – matching fingerprint biometrics of persons of interest. Fingerprints of FCC citizens will not be shared.
The system will help INZ combat fraud and strengthen border security by helping identify, early in the immigration process, people with criminal histories or those using false identities.
“Organised crime groups and illegal migrants are increasingly using identity and passport fraud to evade detection,” says Arron Baker, INZ’s Programme Manager for Identity and Biometrics.
“Biometrics uses technology to improve on traditional checks using names to detect and prevent these people from entering New Zealand. It is a fast, effective and privacy protecting way of quickly facilitating genuine clients while filtering out those who pose risks to New Zealand.”
INZ signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Australian Department of Immigration and Citizenship on 30 June 2010, and is now completing similar agreements with the UK, Canada and the US.
The Department of Labour completed a Privacy Impact Assessment of the system in close consultation with the Office of the Privacy Commissioner. This is available to the public at http://www.immigration.govt.nz.
ENDS
QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS:
Q1. What is the Five Country Conference?
The Five Country Conference (‘FCC’) is a forum for immigration and border security – involving Canada, Australia, the United Kingdom (U.K), the United States (U.S) and New Zealand.
Q2. What is biometric identification?
A. Biometric identification is the confirmation of people’s identity by comparing unique physical features such as fingerprints, photograph, iris scan, etc. with a previously obtained image.
Q3. How do you know the exchange with foreign countries will be secure?
A. The Five Country Conference has developed a system which ensures the information exchange is very secure. The system has been subject to rigorous security accreditation by each country. Also, information shared may only be supplied in accordance with the member’s immigration and privacy laws, as well as international arrangements signed by the parties.
Q4. Will you be sharing any biometrics of Five Country Conference national citizens?
A. No. Fingerprints of citizens of the FCC will not be shared as part of these identity checks. The only time FCC citizens information may be relevant is if someone conceals their true identify as an FCC citizen when dealing with an FCC immigration agency.
Q5. FCC data sharing will involve the exchange of both biometric and biographic data. What kind of biographic data will be shared?
A. There is no biographic information (names, birthdates etc) shared when an identity is checked. Only the fingerprint data is provided to make a check. Privacy experts regard this approach as an innovative way to protect people’s identity. Only when a fingerprint match is made will biographic data be exchanged to confirm if identity fraud has occurred.
Q6. How do you know there will not be security breaches to the data sharing system?
A. Security of data and privacy are of paramount importance to all countries in the FCC. All data exchanged is very strongly encrypted. Thorough security assessments of the system have been completed by a number of government security experts and agencies.
Q7. Under these information sharing arrangements, will the FCC countries be able to remove or deport individuals who have committed an immigration or criminal offence?
A. Yes. Information that is shared under the exchange programme can support prosecution and/or deportation of individuals. It will also be used to prevent the entry of known persons of concern — including those who have committed an immigration or criminal offence.
Quay Law goes to India
Please find attached a link to some pictures taken on a recent business trip to India
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_87ouadwQ24 .
Taking into account the ongoing bilateral Free Trade Agreement negotiations between India and New Zealand, and looking at the potential trade and investment opportunities between the two countries, there could not have been a more opportune time to hold the New Zealand Invest 2010 in India.
Skilled Migrant Category additional selection criteria maintained
These criteria are applied when there are places available in the Pool after all applicants who score between 100 and 140 points and have a New Zealand job or job offer have been selected. When this happens, other EOIs may be selected on the basis of specific criteria which the Minister of Immigration sets every six months.
The additional selection criteria are:
- EOIs that include 15 points for work experience in an area of absolute skills shortage (in descending order of their points total);
- EOIs that include 10 points for work experience in an area of absolute skills shortage (in descending order of their points total);
- EOIs that include 10 points for a qualification in an area of absolute skills shortage (in descending order of their points total);
- the points total of EOIs not meeting any of the above criteria.
International Travel and Migration: November 2009
International Travel and Migration: November 2009 – Media Release
Source: Statistics New Zealand
New Zealand’s annual net permanent and long-term (PLT) migration balance was a gain of 20,000 in the November 2009 year, up from 3,600 in the November 2008 year, Statistics New Zealand said today. The latest annual net migration total is the highest since the July 2004 year (20,600). The increase in net migration was driven largely by 17,300 fewer PLT departures compared with the previous year.
PLT departures decreased by 1,600 in the November 2009 month, including 1,500 fewer departures to Australia and 200 fewer departures to the United Kingdom. Since February 2009, PLT departures have fallen by at least 1,000 each month compared with the same month of the previous year. PLT arrivals decreased by 200 in November 2009.
On a seasonally adjusted basis, PLT arrivals exceeded PLT departures by 1,800 in the November 2009 month, similar to levels experienced since February 2009.
Visitor arrivals in November 2009 (219,900) were up 600 (less than 1 percent) compared with November 2008. Arrivals from Australia (up 7,300 or 9 percent) were again the major contributor, with November 2009 being the eighth consecutive month of large increases from across the Tasman. There were drops in visitors from the United States (down 2,400) and Canada (down 900). Visitor arrivals in the November 2009 year (2.439 million) were down 14,300 (1 percent) from the November 2008 year.
New Zealand residents departed on 158,400 short-term overseas trips in November 2009, up 3,200 (2 percent) from November 2008. There were more trips to India (up 1,100 or 22 percent), and the United States (up 1,000 or 19 percent), but fewer trips to the Cook Islands (down 800 or 18 percent) and Australia (down 800 or 1 percent). For the November 2009 year, short-term departures of New Zealand residents numbered 1.921 million, down 58,400 (3 percent) from the previous November year.
21 December 2009 | |
END |
Expect a strong recovery in NZ economy: Westpac
Expect a strong recovery in New Zealand’s economy, Westpac says
Monday, 18 January 2010, 4:33 pm
Article: Businesswire
Jan. 18 (BusinessWire) – New Zealand’s economic recovery will be stronger than most economists are forecasting, with growth likely to top 4% next year, Westpac Banking Corp said in its quarterly economic overview.
While the global financial crisis could mean a different kind of recovery, Westpac’s economics team suggests there is too much store being placed in that analysis, especially when so many of the factors now at play look the same or better than recoveries in the past.
Westpac’s forecast of a 3.7% rate of growth in gross domestic product this year, and 4.3% in 2011, is at the top end of the 16 forecasters the bank monitors, and it’s happy with that.
“We find that recoveries from past recessions have tended to be very strong,” said Westpac’s chief economist, Brendon O’Donovan. “On average, New Zealand GDP (economic) growth peaks at 6% per annum nine quarters after the recession has ended.”
“What is startling is how many favors are currently shaping up similar to that experienced in previous strong recoveries,” he said. “That would suggest that the risks to our forecasts are weighted more to the upside than the downside.”
Among factors looking similar or better than in previous recoveries, Westpac listed:
• A deep recession to start with;
• Asset prices, particularly housing, rebounding strongly;
• A mini-boom in migration is under way;
• World economic forecasts keep being revised upwards, led by Asian economies rather than Europe or the USA on this occasion;
• A dramatic shortfall in new houses being built;
• Unusually deep de-stocking, meaning firms will have greater inventory re-stocking needs. Inventories fell in mid-2009 by the greatest extent since records began in 1987;
• Reduced consumption mainly affected durable goods, especially cars. If and when spending returns to more normal patterns, these categories fuel a bounceback;
• Leading indicators including the interest rate outlook (rising), business and consumer confidence are “if anything, stronger in those most other economic recoveries”.
While credit, employment and mortgagee sales data would continue to look weak for some months yet, they were all late signals from the last impacts of the recession on firms and households that had hung on as long as possible, but failed late in the downturn.
While the global financial crisis was severe for world banking, there was no banking crisis in New Zealand and the terms of trade had returned swiftly to robust levels, reflecting demand for agricultural and other commodities from fast-growing Asian countries, where New Zealand was signing an increasing number of trade liberalisation deals that would assist growth.
“Simple arithmetic would suggest a stronger than usual rebound,” O’Donovan said.
Westpac expects a substantial improvement in parts of the economy that are exposed to domestic recovery, singling out construction, publishing and advertising, transport and sectors supporting oplant and machinery investment, and consumer durable goods.
(BusinessWire)