---
title: "New Zealand tightens visa rules following near-record migration"
description: "New Zealand said on Sunday it was making immediate changes to its employment visa programme after a near record migration in 2023 which it said was ‘unsustainable’."
type: "NewsArticle"
publisher: "Daily Maverick"
site: "https://www.dailymaverick.co.za"
section: "IMMIGRATION"
author: "Reuters"
author_url: "https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/author/reuters/"
canonical_url: "https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2024-04-07-new-zealand-tightens-visa-rules-amid-near-record-migration/"
published: "2024-04-07T16:54:45"
lang: "en-ZA"
word_count: 191
---

# New Zealand tightens visa rules following near-record migration

> New Zealand said on Sunday it was making immediate changes to its employment visa programme after a near record migration in 2023 which it said was ‘unsustainable’.

By Reuters · Published 7 April 2024, 18:54 SAST

## Key points
- New Zealand tightens immigration rules, favouring highly skilled migrants while giving low-skilled workers a shorter stay - as Australia follows suit, halving its migrant intake amid concerns about inflation.
- New Zealand announces changes to immigration policy, including English language requirement for low-skilled jobs and reduced maximum stay for such roles to three years.
- Immigration Minister Erica Stanford emphasizes focus on attracting and retaining highly skilled migrants to address skill shortages.
- Concerns arise over rapid growth in New Zealand's migrant numbers post-pandemic, with a near-record 173,000 people migrating to the country in 2023.
- Australia plans to halve migrant intake over the next two years amid similar concerns.

## Content

The changes include measures such as introducing an English language requirement for low-skilled jobs and setting a minimum skills and work experience threshold for most employer work visas. The maximum continuous stay for most low-skilled roles will also be reduced to three years from five.

“The government is focused on attracting and retaining the highly skilled migrants such as secondary teachers, where there is a skill shortage,” Immigration Minister Erica Stanford said.

**Read more in Daily Maverick:**[Gone for good — dwindling number of South African emigrants return](https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2024-04-01-gone-for-good-dwindling-number-of-south-african-emigrants-return/)

“At the same time we need to ensure that New Zealanders are put to the front of the line for jobs where there are no skills shortages,” she said.

In 2023, a near-record 173,000 people had migrated to New Zealand.

New Zealand, which has a population of about 5.1 million, has seen a rapid growth in its migrant numbers since the end of the pandemic, [raising concerns](https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AL4N3710HP&linkedFromStory=true) in 2023 that it was fanning inflation.

Neighbouring Australia, which has also seen a big jump in migrants, has said it would [halve its migrant intake](https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AL1N3D50LU&linkedFromStory=true) over the next two years. **Reuters/DM**

*(Reporting by Praveen Menon)*