New median wage to apply from February 2023

The new median wage of NZD $29.66 an hour will be adopted into the immigration system on 27 February 2023.

All wage thresholds indexed to the median wage will also be updated. This includes the Accredited Employer Visa (AEWV), occupations covered by sector agreements, and residence visa categories.

For the AEWV, migrants must meet the wage threshold in force at the time they apply for their visa. This means that if the wage threshold increases between the job check being approved and the migrant applying for the visa, the migrant may need to meet a higher wage threshold than was approved in the job check pay range.

For example, an employer is granted a job check on 1 November 2022 based on the current median wage of $27.76.

  • If the migrant worker they offer employment to applies for an Accredited Employer work visa before 27 February 2023, the worker must be paid at least the median of $27.76. This is because $27.76 will be the median wage in the immigration system at time of application.
  • If the migrant worker they offer employment to applies for an Accredited Employer work visa on or after 27 February 2023, the worker must be paid at least the new median of $29.66.

Residence visa categories and pathways with median wage-related criteria will also be updated. This includes the Green List and Highly Paid pathways, the Skilled Migrant Category and the Parent Category.

Parent Resident Visa restarts

The Parent Resident Visa restarts on 12 October 2022 with reduced requirements for sponsors.

The Selection of existing expressions of interest (EOIs) starts on 14 November 2022.

Any EOIs we receive from 12 October 2022 go into a ballot. The first random selection from the ballot is in August 2023, then every 3 months after that.

From May 2023 EOIs can be submitted online on the Immigration New Zealand website.

500 visas will be available each year for EOIs selected by ballot.

Existing EOIs — these are EOIs we received before 12 October 2022 — will be selected in the date order we received them. We begin selecting them on 14 November 2022 and continue to select them every 3 months after that.

Expressions of interest for the Skilled Migrant Category Resident Visa

On 11 November Immigration New Zealand will select all EOIs at the current threshold of 160 points. After 11 November, the points threshold for selection will increase to 180 points, to better align with the future direction of the Skilled Migrant Category.

EOIs will be selected again on 18 January 2023.