Update

Today Immigration New Zealand have announced three new border exceptions.

Please note that there are limited slots available for these employees, as outlined below:

  • Winery workers (up to 75). This includes the following occupations:
    1. Winery supervisors
    2. Winemakers
    3. Assistant winemakers
    4. Cellar managers
    5. Cellar hand supervisor
  • Meat Processing Workers (up to 150)
  • Seafood Processing workers (up to 150)

These new border exceptions are open from today and will allow workers in these key industries who are supported by New Zealand based employers to travel to New Zealand to start their employment.

Our thoughts

This latest update will come as welcome news to industries that are currently struggling to recruit enough workers to meet demand.

Due to limited availability, we strongly encourage employers looking to bring offshore workers in to move quickly to secure available slots. We anticipate that the quota provided will be used very quickly.

We have extensive experience with navigating the border exception process and would be happy to assist with this process.

The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.