Wellington, New Zealand:
New Zealand said on Sunday it would make immediate changes to its employment visa program after immigration numbers neared record levels last year, calling it “unsustainable”.
The changes include measures such as introducing English language requirements for low-skilled jobs and setting minimum skills and work experience thresholds for work visas for most employers. The maximum period of continuous tenure for most low-skilled positions will also be reduced from five years to three years.
“The government is focused on attracting and retaining high-skilled immigrants such as secondary school teachers, who are experiencing skills shortages,” Immigration Minister Erica Stanford said in a statement.
“At the same time, we need to ensure New Zealanders can lead the way in jobs where there are no skills shortages,” she said.
The statement said 173,000 people immigrated to New Zealand last year, close to a record number.
New Zealand, which has a population of about 5.1 million, has seen rapid growth in immigration since the end of the pandemic, raising concerns last year that it was fueling inflation.
Immigration has also increased significantly in neighboring Australia, which has said it will cut immigration by half over the next two years.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
