On 1  November 2015, a new policy came into place to attract new migrants to take up jobs in regional New Zealand.

‘Regional New Zealand’ means any place outside of the area covered by the Auckland Council (if you know Auckland, that means south of the Bombay Hills; and north just past Warkworth).

Additional Bonus Points

The new measure boosts the bonus points for skilled migrants applying for residence with a job offer outside Auckland – from 10 to 30 points.

And if you are applying under the business categories the points are doubled for entrepreneurs planning to set up businesses in the regions under the Entrepreneur Work Visa from 20 to 40 points.

Why is New Zealand trying to attract people to locations outside of Auckland?

NZ’s Prime Minister says almost half of the 10,000 skilled migrants (and their families) who get residence each year move to the financial capital.

On the new policy, he says that “we want to balance that out a bit, by attracting more people to other parts of the country to help grow local economies”.

Migrants with offers for jobs in the regions will get extra points that will count towards the 100 they require to apply for residence.

However, they will need to commit to a region for at least 12 months – up from the current requirement of three months.

Business Opportunities

Mr Key has also unveiled changes to encourage entrepreneurs wanting to come to New Zealand to look for business opportunities in the regions. He said these changes will help spread the benefits of migration across the country – particularly in regions that are in greater need for workers, skills and investment.

NZ’s Immigration Changes – The Facts

For migrants:

• Skilled migrants must reach a 100 point threshold to apply for residence – certain skills, industries, job offers and qualifications have a higher number of points attached to them
• The bonus points for a job offer outside Auckland will increase from 10 to 30, therefore making it easier for them to apply
• They will need to commit to a region for at least 12 months – up from the current three month requirement

Entrepreneurs:

• An entrepreneur work visa was launched by the government last year to attract migrants who offer high-level business experience, capital and international connections
• The extra points they get for setting up a business outside Auckland will double – from 20 to 40
• Immigration New Zealand expects to approve up to 200 people in 2016 under the entrepreneur visa category

Our view is that there are many fantastic,  challenging work opportunities in New Zealand – and the other main centres of Wellington, Christchurch, Queenstown, Tauranga and New Plymouth have a lot to offer.

Have a look in the jobs section of our Working In New Zealand website, to find something that suits you – or Like our Facebook page to keep up-to-date on New Zealand immigration and employment news.