More than 500 bus drivers submitted a petition to Parliament on Tuesday, urging the government to lower the postgraduate-level English-language requirement for drivers seeking residency.
The submission of the petition follows warnings from the Bus and Coach Association in October that a looming driver shortage could affect transport services nationwide in 2026 unless the government reviewed its postgraduate-level English-language requirement.
To qualify for a skilled residence visa, applicants must achieve at least IELTS 6.5 (general or academic) or meet equivalent scores in tests such as TOEFL iBT (79), PTE Academic (58), B2 First (176) or OET (Grade B).
However, several bus drivers told RNZ in September the benchmark was unrealistic in their line of work, with some saying they were considering returning home if they failed to secure residency.
Auckland bus driver Edvin Pritesh Prisad said the benchmark was too high.
"The test is hard," Prisad said. "It's a university level exam and we are just drivers. If we have that level of English, then why are we driving buses in Auckland?"
Prisad said he had been driving buses in New Zealand for three years and that the higher English-language threshold was crippling many bus driver families across the country.
Delanie Myers, chief executive of the Bus and Coach Association, said it was "unfair" for drivers who moved to New Zealand hoping for a better life, only to now face the prospect of returning home.
"It's going to disrupt services," Myers says.
"We've got about 1000 drivers here in that situation and that's 20 percent of the public transport driver workforce."
Myers said many of the visas were due to expire within a short period, creating a risk of driver shortages and service cancellations.
She urged the government to drop the higher threshold and adopt a standard that was "far more realistic for what people need to get along in New Zealand society".
Labour's immigration spokesperson, Phil Twyford, meet the drivers at Parliament on Tuesday, alongside fellow Labour MP Jane Tinetti and Green MP Ricardo Menéndez March.
Twyford called the current English-language rules "discriminatory" and "impractical".
"These drivers ... came from the Philippines, from Fiji, from India, not just to drive for a few years in New Zealand but to make a new life with their families," Twyford said.
"It is unfair on them and it's quite impractical because if these drivers are forced to go home, then we'll be facing another shortage in both our trucking and public transport industries," he said.
He said employers, including bus companies and the councils that fund and contract them, were also urging the minister to reconsider the strict language rules.
"They're saying that unless the minister changes her position on this and makes it easier for these drivers to progress to residents, these drivers are forced to go and it's not practical to think they can recruit all these positions locally, and we'll be facing another shortage of drivers that was so damaging only a few years ago," he said.
Menéndez March said bus drivers were an integral part of the community, adding that migrant workers deserved respect, dignity and a clear pathway to residency.
"Everybody who gets out of public transport often says, 'Thank you driver'. One of the best things that we can do to thank them is to allow them to stay in the country and settle in our communities," he said.
Immigration Minister Erica Stanford told RNZ in October that transport operators should find New Zealand drivers to fill any gaps in the sector.
On Tuesday, Stanford said she did not plan to change the English-language testing standard for bus drivers seeking New Zealand residency.
"The IELTS English language test has been exactly the same for many, many, many, many, many years," Stanford said. "It has not been changed."
She said many bus drivers had visas lasting up to five years, giving them sufficient time to meet the requirement.
When asked about migrant drivers who had to return home due to the strict test requirements, Stanford said the situation was the same for anyone unable to attain the required score.
"They've got another two years on their visas, and there's plenty of time for them to be able to improve their English language," she said.
"It's what we expect from all migrants. The standard has not shifted for many, many years, and we're not looking to change it."
-By RNZ