Two years of Covid pandemic: Only 1081 temporary migrants normally living in NZ given “exception” to re-enter the country
Immigration New Zealand has revealed to the Indian Weekender that only 1081 temporary migrants normally living in NZ are given an “exception” to re-enter the country in a period from April 2, 2020, and January 11, 2022.
This is indeed a paltry number out of a tentative and widely reported figure of “tens of thousands” of temporary migrants who were normally living and working in New Zealand when the borders were closed on March 28, 2020.
It is important to note that although Immigration New Zealand never had officially reported the actual number of temporary visa holders who were living in New Zealand and had only temporarily left the country when the borders were closed, eroding their ability to re-enter the country as the government adopted border closure as its fundamental strategy to keep the virus away from the country.
The sudden border closure was a life-changing event for many temporary migrant workers who either did not have the capabilities or the motivation to make abrupt and immediate travel arrangements within an extremely short timeframe window as the country prepared to hunker down in March 2020.
To be fair to them, most of them even did not have access to the announcement of border closure made by the then Minister of Foreign Affairs, and to make it worse, those were the days when most of the international travel routes were being dramatically closed within a very short time.
And even for those, who were cavalier enough to launch the daunting task of travelling back, leaving the comfort of their homes, when the virus was running amok around the world, amidst disrupted travel routes, many were turned back by Immigration New Zealand from distant ports as part of their preparation to close the borders.
It was only seven months after the initial border closure in September 2020 (and a month before the then delayed elections) that the government came out with much fanfare announcing an “exception” to a segment of temporary migrants who were ordinarily resident in NZ and still had valid visas and valid employment to be allowed back in the country.
However, even by INZ’s own assessment then, only around 650 people would have qualified under the new “exceptions” to be eligible to return to the country in the next 12 months period.
This news was greeted with much optimism and hope by those who were stuck overseas and the activists and community leaders who have been working persistently to extract some kind of empathy and relief from the government for the now-forgotten category of temporary migrant workers.
Since then, there has not been any major announcement related to an exception to this category of temporary work visa holders, barring a few separate announcements related to allowing a small category of international students (250 PhD students) and re-uniting of partners and family members separated by closed borders.
More than 10,000 workers gained entry under “Other Critical Worker”
However, the government has opened another category of “Other Critical Worker” for temporary migrants to gain entry in New Zealand in the same year of the pandemic.
In September 2020, the government announced a change in the requirement for the “other critical worker” category changing it to “technical or specialist skills that are not ‘readily obtainable’ in New Zealand.”
According to the data received by the Indian Weekender on January 11, this year, 10,269 temporary workers were able to gain entry to New Zealand under this category.
About 5,340 workers have been allowed under the “Critical health worker” category during the same period.
It is to be noted that these new categories of critical workers do not include the temporary migrant workers who first arrived in New Zealand before the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic either after pursuing international studies and gaining key skills and work experience onshore and having legitimate work visas.
A vast number of such temporary migrant workers are still waiting for some major announcement of relief or exception to re-enter New Zealand.
Immigration New Zealand has revealed to the Indian Weekender that only 1081 temporary migrants normally living in NZ are given an “exception” to re-enter the country in a period from April 2, 2020, and January 11, 2022.
This is indeed a paltry number out of a tentative and widely reported figure of...
Immigration New Zealand has revealed to the Indian Weekender that only 1081 temporary migrants normally living in NZ are given an “exception” to re-enter the country in a period from April 2, 2020, and January 11, 2022.
This is indeed a paltry number out of a tentative and widely reported figure of “tens of thousands” of temporary migrants who were normally living and working in New Zealand when the borders were closed on March 28, 2020.
It is important to note that although Immigration New Zealand never had officially reported the actual number of temporary visa holders who were living in New Zealand and had only temporarily left the country when the borders were closed, eroding their ability to re-enter the country as the government adopted border closure as its fundamental strategy to keep the virus away from the country.
The sudden border closure was a life-changing event for many temporary migrant workers who either did not have the capabilities or the motivation to make abrupt and immediate travel arrangements within an extremely short timeframe window as the country prepared to hunker down in March 2020.
To be fair to them, most of them even did not have access to the announcement of border closure made by the then Minister of Foreign Affairs, and to make it worse, those were the days when most of the international travel routes were being dramatically closed within a very short time.
And even for those, who were cavalier enough to launch the daunting task of travelling back, leaving the comfort of their homes, when the virus was running amok around the world, amidst disrupted travel routes, many were turned back by Immigration New Zealand from distant ports as part of their preparation to close the borders.
It was only seven months after the initial border closure in September 2020 (and a month before the then delayed elections) that the government came out with much fanfare announcing an “exception” to a segment of temporary migrants who were ordinarily resident in NZ and still had valid visas and valid employment to be allowed back in the country.
However, even by INZ’s own assessment then, only around 650 people would have qualified under the new “exceptions” to be eligible to return to the country in the next 12 months period.
This news was greeted with much optimism and hope by those who were stuck overseas and the activists and community leaders who have been working persistently to extract some kind of empathy and relief from the government for the now-forgotten category of temporary migrant workers.
Since then, there has not been any major announcement related to an exception to this category of temporary work visa holders, barring a few separate announcements related to allowing a small category of international students (250 PhD students) and re-uniting of partners and family members separated by closed borders.
More than 10,000 workers gained entry under “Other Critical Worker”
However, the government has opened another category of “Other Critical Worker” for temporary migrants to gain entry in New Zealand in the same year of the pandemic.
In September 2020, the government announced a change in the requirement for the “other critical worker” category changing it to “technical or specialist skills that are not ‘readily obtainable’ in New Zealand.”
According to the data received by the Indian Weekender on January 11, this year, 10,269 temporary workers were able to gain entry to New Zealand under this category.
About 5,340 workers have been allowed under the “Critical health worker” category during the same period.
It is to be noted that these new categories of critical workers do not include the temporary migrant workers who first arrived in New Zealand before the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic either after pursuing international studies and gaining key skills and work experience onshore and having legitimate work visas.
A vast number of such temporary migrant workers are still waiting for some major announcement of relief or exception to re-enter New Zealand.
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