About 200 employees who reached the country through the Recovery Visa are staying in the country in an irregular way, according to Immigration New Zealand.
The same notes that a total of 177 employees, under the temporary Recovery Visa are still in the country, with only 72 people returning to their home countries, VisaGuide.World reports.
In addition, another 615 former Recovery Visa employees are now under a different visa, while 336 are on an interim visa.
A total of 1,236 people are currently under the Recovery Visa, which was introduced last year in order to accelerate the entry of workers, thus further helping the country’s economic growth.
According to the chief operating officer at Immigration New Zealand, Stephen Vaughan, it was difficult for immigration compliance to make contact with overstayers as a result of incomplete information provided during the Recovery Visa Application process.
MBIE’s immigration compliance team will continue to contact unlawful individuals where possible.
Immigration New Zealand has confirmed that it records all arrivals and departures from the country and knows when someone has not departed before their visa expires.
People who overstay their visa may be more vulnerable to exploitation. Employers are committing an offense by employing people who have overstayed their visa.
New Zealand’s Recovery Visa is dedicated to migrant workers who have been in NZ to do a job that helps the country’s economy further grow from the devastating situation caused by extreme weather events in January and February 2023. In addition, the visa gives migrants a further 3 months to complete their job and leave New Zealand or to consider remaining in the country by choosing other visa options.
Unsustainable Migration Led to Stricter Work Rules
In April this year, New Zealand introduced new changes to tighten rules related to Accredited Employer Work Visa (AEWV), as a result of unsustainable net migration. Such measures became effective on April 7, 2024.
In this regard, the Minister of Migration, Erica Stanford, said that the new measures aim to help the country attract necessary skills while also reducing the vulnerability of migrants to exploitation.
Last year the country received a total of 254,393 migrant arrivals, according to the statistics from Stats NZ.
At the same time, the number of migrant departures was 115,263, bringing the net migration to a total of 139,130.
The figures from Stats NZ revealed that nationals of India were the most significant group in terms of migrant arrivals, followed by those of the Philippines (36,200), New Zealand (27,800), China (26,900) and Fiji (11,100).
The statistics from Stats NZ revealed that in March this year, about 164,000 non-NZ citizens reached the country and 52,500 people left the country.
The number of immigrant arrivals to the country in March 2023 was 28,000 thus accounting for a decline of 17 per cent compared to 2024 figures.