This article has been updated. It was originally published August 15, 2023. Contents As the 2024 Christmas season approaches, many of your Filipino workers may be looking forward to visiting their families back home in the Philippines. While this is a much-needed break for them, as their employer, it’s important to ensure that their re-entry…
So you’ve had a job application from the perfect Filipino worker for your New Zealand business, and you want to hire them – but you find out that they can’t legally leave the Philippines, because they don’t have an Overseas Employment Certificate (OEC).
If you’re an employer looking to hire skilled migrants from the Philippines, you may be wondering what options there are for work visas for Filipinos in New Zealand.
There are numerous reasons why it makes sense to hire from the Philippines – but do be aware that hiring Filipino workers is different to other types of international recruitment. That’s because it’s highly regulated and monitored by the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA).
Now that international travel and border restrictions have been lifted many Filipinos are seeking opportunities to work in foreign countries such as New Zealand. In the Philippines, a high percentage of the government’s GDP comes from their workforce’s foreign earnings.
The skilled migrant category reopens on 9 November 2022 with the current systems and processes in place. This means that Expressions Of Interest (EOIs) still need at least 160 points. From 18 January 2023, EOIs will need to have a minimum of 180 points.
The current shortage of skilled labour is reportedly the worst it has been in 20 years with skilled jobs sitting vacant, threatening New Zealand’s productivity and export income
Where genuine skill or labour shortages exist, accredited employers can hire skilled migrant workers using the new AEWV which is a new temporary visa that replaces six previous work visas with a streamlined single visa process.
In the new Accreditation 2022 changes, Employers now must allow migrant workers time during paid working hours to complete employment NZ online modules which educates migrants around their employment rights.
Find out how to become an accredited employer under Immigration New Zealand’s new accreditation scheme and how to hire a migrant on the new Accredited Employer Work Visa (AEWV) available from 4 July 2022.
You’ve managed to recruit enough skilled employees to ensure your projects are able to continue (or at least to avoid delays), you’ve completed the onsite training and you are looking forward to continuance – then one or more of them gets picked up by a competitor.
The one constant in the path of employing migrants in New Zealand is change. Rules and requirements for migrant recruitment are continually evolving – as is always the case with young industries as they mature.
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