New Zealand is one of the most coveted destinations in the world for a vacation, studying, working, and investing. The beautiful natural scenery, unique culture, and very high standard of living make it an attractive prospect for many people who wish to start anew. However, due to the recent change in immigration policies in New Zealand, a decision to increase the visa fees by 100% has taken widespread attention and concern. These changes would be applicable to all classes of visas, including visitor, student, work, and resident categories, and will become effective from 1 October 2024.
In this blog, read about the recent visa fee hike, for whom it has been levied, what can be termed as the motivation for jacking up the fees, the latest fee structure, and all the important information applicants should be aware of.
Why Has New Zealand Increased the Visa Fees?
There are a number of reasons that have forced the government of New Zealand to raise the cost of its visas by as much as 100%:
- Cost Recovery: The reason behind the increased fee is to ensure that the full cost of processing visas and delivering immigration services is charged to applicants themselves, rather than New Zealand taxpayers. This makes the immigration system more self-sustaining and fairer in that respect.
- Improving Immigration Services: Additional revenue gathered through increased fees will be reinvested in improvements to immigration services, such as technology upgrades, personnel to cut down on processing times, and improved customer service.
- Level Management: New Zealand tries to manage the volume of applications through increasing fees. Higher costs will make less-than-serious applicants think twice, therefore streamlining immigration toward highly skilled migrants, students, and investors.
- COVID-19 Economic Recovery: The fee increase also supports New Zealand’s economic recovery strategy in the post-COVID-19 pandemic. This would mean that immigration policies are in concert with broader economic objectives: inward growth balanced against public service pressure.
- Meeting International Benchmarks: Most of the countries of the world are revising their visa fees in keeping with the rise in administration costs and inflation. New Zealand has gone down the same road, making its immigration policy competitive yet feasible.
Old and New Prices of the Visa
Following is the current fee and new fee after October 01, 2024, for a visa:
| Visa Type | Previous Fee (NZD) | Revised Fee (NZD) (Effective from October 01, 2024) |
|---|---|---|
| Post-Study Work Visa | 475 | 645 |
| Post-Study Work Visa Processing Levy | 200 | 1,300 |
| Accredited Employer Work Visa (AEWV) | 525 | 700 |
| AEWV Application Levy | 200 | 1,025 |
| Student Visa for New Zealand | 285 | 465 |
| Student Visa Processing Levy | 90 | 250 |
Who Can Attend These Visa Programs?
The hike in the visa fee applicable across: visa applicants for tourists, students, and other categories of entrants.
- Tourists: Visitors looking to come to New Zealand on vacation for business or to see family members.
- Students: Foreign students.
- Skilled Workers: Those applying for work visas under the Skilled Migrant Category Resident Visa and the Essential Skills Work Visa.
- Family Members: Applicants, or prospective applicants, in family visas that will make them eligible to be sponsored by relatives already in New Zealand.
- Entrepreneurs and Investors: Those desiring to be in business or to make investments in New Zealand.
Effect of the Increase in Visa Prices on the Applicants
The 100% increase for visa fee will result in the following:
- Financial Impact: The direct impact is that applicants will be overburdened with the extra cost. The huge increase in the fees could deter many immigrants, especially students and low-income-group employees.
- Decrease in Application Number: Increased fees might reduce the volume of applications, which could lessen the processing time at one end but reduce diversity and potential talent for New Zealand at another end.
- Things to consider: Prospective migrants will have to be more thoughtful in their financial planning by taking the higher costs into account when deciding to migrate to New Zealand.
- Selective Immigration: Costing more, New Zealand expects only serious applicants, who are financially well prepared, to put up an application, which in turn helps control immigration flow more effectively.
Age Limits and Eligibility Criteria
Various visa categories have their respective age limits and are governed by certain eligibility criteria :
- Student Visas: There is generally no age limit; however, applicants must, in general, be at least 18 for an undergraduate program and 21 for a postgraduate program.
- Skilled Migrant Category: Candidates should generally be under the age of 55 years to be eligible for applying. The younger ones score more points in the immigration system.
- Family Visas: There isn’t an age limit for partners, but their dependent children must be under 24 years of age.
- Entrepreneur and Investor Visas: There is generally no age limit, but there are points differences on account of age in some of the visa categories.
Documents Required
The applicant needs to get ready with a number of documents, which can be different according to the category under which application is made:
- Valid Passport: It should be valid for at least six months beyond the projected date of entry.
- Application Form: It should be duly filled according to the category under which application is made.
- Recent Photos: Passport size photos, as per the requirements of the photo sought in a visa application.
- Proof of Financial Stability: Bank statements, letters of sponsorship, or similar documents proving that there are sufficient funds.
- Health and Character Certificates: Medical reports and police clearance.
- Proof of Relationship (for family visas): Marriage and birth certificates.
- Offer of Place (for students): From a New Zealand educational institution.
- Employment Documents (for work visas): Offer of employment specify in a letter, proof of qualifications, and relevant employment.
Applicable Education and Eligible Professions
- Education Requirements: Vary with visa type; a student visa may require an offer of place from a recognized institution of learning, and in the case of a skilled migrant visa, a qualification equal to New Zealand Level 4 Certificate and above.
- In-Demand Professions: Doctors and nurses, civil and mechanical engineers, software developers and data analysts, construction workers, teachers, hospitality managers, agricultural workers
Conclusion
As announced, an increase in visa fees for New Zealand is a serious change in the immigration policy of the country. All visa categories are more than doubled, which means potential immigrants have to think over and administer their budgets wisely. The realization of the reason behind the move, who is targeted, or what it means may be just the eye-opener the potential applicant will need to make up their mind on the move. New Zealand is certainly becoming a very popular place; the new fees do make it more urgent to keep up-to-date and on your toes.
Understand New Zealand’s new visa policy, the overall immigration view, and the first guidelines trending in your landing and successful journey in this great country.
Emigrantz Global Consultancy registered and partnered with ICCRC (ICCRC – R407847) has more than a decade’s experience in the immigration industry. We have been fulfilling the needs of Permanent residency, student visa, business visa and work permit aspirants for Canada along with other countries.
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