Immigration Advice and Lawyers

Practising lawyers

A lawyer is a person who holds a current practising certificate as a barrister or as a barrister and solicitor, issued by the New Zealand Law Society.

Usually anyone giving immigration advice must hold a licence. However, lawyers fall into an exempt category of people who do not need to hold a licence. The exempt category includes, among others, lawyers and the employees of lawyers or law firms providing immigration advice as part of their job. Employees of lawyers do not need to hold a licence on the basis that they cannot give advice on their own and it is the lawyer employer who is responsible for giving immigration advice.

Changes in visa requirements for temporary workers in the music, screen and entertainment industry

Monday, 30 April 2012 (Source – Immigration New Zealand

Changes in visa requirements for temporary workers in the music, screen and entertainment industry take effect on 30 April 2012.  The changes apply to entertainers, performing artists and associated support personnel, film and video production and post-production crew, producers and directors.

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.

Immigration New Zealand’s Vision for 2015

Source nz.new.yahoo.com

Education New Zealand is welcoming the release of Immigration New Zealand’s ‘Vision for 2015’.

The Government plans to double the economic value of international education to 5.5-billion over the next 15-years.

Education New Zealand chairman Charles Finny says the connection of strategies between government agencies is paramount to success.

He says Education New Zealand is already working closely with other agencies on a number of shared initiatives.

Mr Finny says international education is a key pillar in strengthening New Zealand’s economic, cultural and social links with the world.

 

Immigration officers to get beefed-up search powers

Source: NZ herald

By: Lincoln Tan

Immigration officers are to be given greater powers of search and investigation without reliance on police under new laws coming in next month.

Officers will be able to investigate and act against offenders without the need to rely on Customs or police under the Immigration Act.

They will be able to enter and search places and crafts, inspecting records of educational providers, accommodation providers, employers and even buildings and premises of people liable for deportation.

The new act comes into effect on November 29 and, subject to Cabinet approval, officers working for Immigration New Zealand will be given new powers.

“The amendments will allow immigration officers to carry out routine immigration-related investigations and functions without relying on resources from our partner agencies,” said Nigel Bickle, head of Immigration.

Under the current law, these powers are exercised by police or Customs on behalf of the department.

“The powers are carefully prescribed to be used in specific circumstances,” Mr Bickle said.

The new powers restrict officers to enter and search in immigration-controlled areas such as airports, not private homes, and where they enter premises where a person who is liable for deportation is believed to be, it will be only for the specific functions related to deportation, he said.

In the 12 months to September 30, the agency deported 687 overstayers – costing taxpayers nearly $1.7 million – with people from Samoa, Fiji and Tonga making up nearly half of those repatriated.

A new detention and monitoring system will be introduced under the act, allowing Immigration officials to choose from a range of options, including putting people into secure detention or releasing offenders with reporting conditions.

“The act establishes a flexible approach to monitoring and detaining foreign nationals who are considered to be a threat to the integrity of the immigration system or the security and safety of New Zealand,” Mr Bickle said.

“The new system brings us into the era of the modern regulatory framework, which allows us to choose between a range of options based on risk, rather than a one-size-fits-all.”

People who are liable for arrest and detention may be monitored in the community or detained in custody. Determining factors include the possibility of a person absconding, criminality, risk to public safety and identity concerns.

The new powers will only be brought into force when Cabinet is satisfied that the appropriate training and operating instructions have been developed, and that there are safeguards in place.

Said Mr Bickle: “No date has been determined yet.”

Under the new act, people facing deportation may be detained in police custody without warrant for up to 96 hours, compared with up to 24 or 72 hours depending on circumstances under the current act.

Warrants of commitment may also be granted by the District Court to hold a person liable to arrest or detention in custody for up to 28 days, and a person may also be held under warrant for a continuous period for up to six months following the completion of relevant immigration processes.

“Specially-designated Immigration officers will be able to detain people for a maximum of four hours. This new power will be brought into effect by order in council,” Mr Bickle said.
HANDLING IMMIGRATION OFFENDERS
(Awaiting Cabinet approval)
* Immigration offenders face secure detention or reporting conditions.

* Immigration officers can enter and search crafts, schools and buildings.

* New act will allow Immigration officers to act independently from police and Customs.

DEPORTED
Total deported in the last 12 months: 687 people costing $1.68 million

* Samoa: 157 people deported at a cost of $385,000
* Fiji: 71 people deported at a cost of $174,000
* China: 70 people deported at a cost of $172,000
* Tonga: 61 people deported at a cost of $150,000
* Malaysia: 51 people deported at a cost of $125,000
* India: 32 people deported at a cost of $78,400
* Great Britain: 28 people deported at a cost of $68,600
* Indonesia: 23 people deported at a cost of $56,350
* South Africa: 18 people deported at a cost of $44,100
* Chile: 15 people deported at a cost of $36,750

Interim Visas for Foreign Migrants in New Zealand!

source: nzherald.co.nz  25 August 2010

New interim visas will allow migrants waiting for their visas to be processed to continue working, Immigration Minister Jonathan Coleman says.

It was a bonus for businesses and employees, Dr Coleman said.

“In most circumstances it provides continuity in the workplace as employers have the security of knowing their staff member can continue working legally while Immigration New Zealand processes their application.”

The interim visas will be in place by March.

Changes to the sponsorship provisions will allow organisations and government departments to sponsor someone’s visa where previously only individuals could.

– NZPA

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.

New Zealand Residence Programme: Investor (Investor 2 Category) selection

New Zealand Residence Programme: Investor (Investor 2 Category) selection

Wednesday, February 17, 2010

Source : Immigration New Zealand

A selection of Expressions of Interest (EOI) under the Migrant Investment Policy, Investor (Investor 2 Category), took place on Wednesday, 17 February 2010. Eleven EOIs were selected. All EOIs with a claim of between 20 and 171 points were selected.

For more information relating to your immigration needs contact Ian Mellett.

Skilled Migrant Category additional selection criteria maintained

Friday, December 18, 2009

Source : immigration.govt.nz

The additional criteria for selecting Expressions of Interest (EOI) from the Skilled Migrant Category Pool (the Pool) until 31 July 2010 have been set. The criteria will remain the same as in the previous six month period.

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.

Confidence building on “tough” job market

By JAMES WEIR – The Dominion Post

Workers think there will be more jobs around in a year, and that they will be making more money, according to a bank survey. But for now, times are still “extremely tough” on the job front, with unemployment expected to keep rising to about 7 per cent in the middle of next year. Wage rises are slowing down fast. Workers are feeling much more secure about their jobs and confidence about the labour market is improving, according to the Westpac McDermott Miller Employment Confidence survey. As job security improved, that would eventually translate to a greater willingness to spend, and a greater mood to demand higher wages, Westpac senior economist Donna Purdue said. The bank survey’s overall employee confidence index rose 6.9 points between the June and September quarters to reach 103. It was the second biggest quarterly gain since the survey began in June 2004. An index above 100 indicates there are more optimists than pessimists, while a number below 100 indicates that pessimists outnumber optimists. The survey was carried out in the first half of September. The survey showed the number of workers being paid more than a year ago had fallen. A net 15 per cent of those surveyed said they were better off than a year ago, down from a net 19 per cent in June. More people said jobs were hard to get, at a net 66.5 per cent in September, from a net 65.3 per cent in June. Both of those indicators were the lowest since the survey started five years ago, indicating that many people were getting little or no wage rise. Sales of big ticket products such as cars and furniture were hit the hardest in a time of low job security, so as security improved there should be a lift in sales. The survey result suggested that the worst was over for the jobs downturn.